Israeli settlers attack European diplomats, assault French mayor in West Bank

Eyewitnesses and two European diplomats told AFP that Israeli settlers attacked a convoy of European diplomats today while they were touring the occupied West Bank, and also assaulted the mayor of a French town who was visiting the area.

According to witnesses cited by Al Arabiya, vehicles from the French, Belgian, and Polish missions were carrying diplomats to visit the predominantly Christian town of Taybeh in the occupied West Bank when settlers arrived to prevent Palestinians from harvesting olives.

Masked settlers made hostile remarks toward the diplomats before kicking Bernard Boudot, the 78-year-old left-wing mayor of Aulnay-Émerainville in northern France, according to diplomats and eyewitnesses.

Footage shared by one of the diplomats showed the mayor of Aulnay-Émerainville lying on the ground, leaning against a car. Two diplomats and a local resident confirmed his identity to AFP, while one diplomat said he was injured but did not require hospitalization.

The West Bank has seen a surge in violence in recent months, with near-daily attacks, thefts, or acts of vandalism by Israeli settlers targeting Palestinians, including the seizure of olive groves.

An American photojournalist working for The Washington Post was also assaulted by Israeli settlers yesterday while covering ongoing violence against Palestinian olive farmers in the occupied West Bank.

The United States on Friday condemned the "criminal violence" in the occupied West Bank, without directly referencing the assault on the American photojournalist by Israeli settlers.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates strongly condemned the terrorist attack carried out by a group of Israeli settlers near Taybeh, east of Ramallah, when they confronted a group of diplomats—including the consuls general of France and Belgium, a Polish representative, other diplomats, and Catholic Church representatives—assaulted a French mayor, and damaged a Belgian vehicle.

In a statement, the ministry said this criminal attack is further evidence of the growing organized settler terrorism targeting Palestinians, their land, and property, and does not spare international supporters, diplomats, journalists, or clergy. The ministry said such attacks are meant to intimidate and prevent them from carrying out their duties and reporting on Israeli crimes and violations against the Palestinian people. It added that the expansion of this terrorism is enabled by protection from the Israeli government and a continued policy of impunity that encourages further assaults.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs holds the Israeli government, as the occupying power, fully responsible for these attacks and their consequences, and calls on it to end settler violence, ensure the protection of Palestinian civilians and the safety of diplomats, journalists, clergy, and international supporters, and to hold perpetrators and those behind them accountable. The ministry stressed that condemnation alone is no longer sufficient, and that the ongoing lack of international accountability sends a message encouraging further crimes.

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