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Israeli settlers attack European diplomatic cars in West Bank
AFP, Ramallah
Published: 17 Oct 2026, 08:59 PM
American freelance photojournalist Heidi Levine is transferred on a stretcher into a Palestinian ambulance, after she was attacked by Israeli settlers while photographing Palestinian farmers harvesting their olives, in the Palestinian village of Abu Falah on 16 October 2026. Photo: AFP
Israeli settlers on Saturday attacked a convoy of European
diplomats and beat up a visiting French mayor, in an escalation of recent
violence during the Palestinian olive harvest, witnesses and diplomats told
AFP.
Cars from the French, Belgian and Polish missions had
brought diplomats to visit Taybeh, a largely Christian village in the occupied
West Bank, when settlers descended to stop Palestinians from gathering olives,
witnesses said.
Masked settlers made aggressive statements towards the
diplomats before kicking Bernard Baudoux, 78, the leftist mayor of the northern
French town of Aulnoye-Aymeries, according to witnesses and diplomats who
confirmed his identity.
"I think that if settlers are behaving like this, there
is a tolerance on the part of the Israeli government," Bernard Baudoux
said after he was attacked.
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said the Belgian
consul general, French and Polish diplomats and a French mayor were among those
attacked, while a Belgian vehicle was damaged.
"Impunity for violent settlers must end," Prevot
said on X. "This violence cannot be separated from Israel's illegal
settlement policy. Belgium condemns settlement expansion and attempts to
forcibly displace Palestinians from their land." He said the Belgian
consul general was among those in the delegation.
Video footage seen by AFP showed Baudoux, wearing a sash in
the French tricolour, slumped on the ground against a car. Two people who spoke
to him said that he was hurt but did not need to go to hospital.
The West Bank has seen an especially violent olive harvest
season as Israeli settlers try to physically stop Palestinians from gathering
their crops.
On Friday, settlers seriously injured an American
photographer for The Washington Post as she covered the harvest, and last week
settlers beat up an AFP photographer.
The violence comes during the final days of an election
campaign in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has championed settlers as
he seeks their support in the upcoming poll.
Israel quickly condemned the attack on the diplomatic
convoy, in contrast to Netanyahu's response to the attack on the Washington
Post photographer, in which he suggested that Palestinians or
"far-left" activists shared blame.
"I strongly condemn the severe acts of violence by
Israeli rioters," Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said.
However, Saar also criticised the consulates, saying they
did not coordinate the trip with the military.
Israeli police said that they had launched an investigation.
"Efforts are underway to locate the victims, collect
testimonies, and identify the suspects, with the aim of bringing them to justice,"
a police statement said.