Israeli settlers attack European diplomats in the West Bank

On Saturday, Israeli settlers attacked a group of European diplomats in the occupied West Bank, one day after a journalist working for the Washington Post newspaper was injured in another attack. Israeli media and the official Palestinian News Agency (Wafa) reported that settlers attacked European diplomats in the village of Taybeh, a Christian Palestinian village located east of Ramallah.

Local media reported that the diplomats belong to France, Belgium and Poland. Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot condemned the attack and indicated that it was directly linked to Israeli policies in the West Bank.

The minister said in a statement published on the X platform: “The Israeli authorities, as the occupying power, must protect the Palestinians, ensure the safety of diplomats and journalists, and bring those responsible for these attacks to justice.” He added: "The impunity of violent settlers must end."

He also noted that the group also included representatives of the Catholic Church. Ofok News Network contacted the Foreign Ministries of France and Poland to obtain a comment.

One video from the site shows a French official - identified as Bernard Boudeau, mayor of the city of Aulnois-Imery - sitting on the ground next to a vehicle with a smashed window. In other clips, masked settlers - some carrying clubs or riding off-road vehicles - are seen blocking diplomats and demanding that they show their identification.

The Vice President of the Palestinian Authority, Hussein Al-Sheikh, called on the international community to hold Israel responsible for this attack. He wrote on his account on the

For his part, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar expressed his strong condemnation of "the serious acts of violence committed by Israeli rioters." He added that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in contact with the ambassadors of the concerned countries, and that it is providing assistance to law enforcement agencies.

The Israeli military stated that there were no soldiers in the area at the time of the attack, and that the visit was not coordinated with it. He said in a statement: “We strongly condemn the serious acts of violence that occurred in the Taiba region, where diplomatic representatives were attacked by Israeli rioters.”

The Israeli police are investigating the incident. The settlers' attack on the diplomats comes one day after another incident, in which settlers attacked the veteran journalist at the Washington Post, Heidi Levin, while she was accompanying a group of Palestinians at the beginning of the annual olive harvest.

Levine was taken to hospital and underwent surgery following the assault, during which she said her camera and passport were stolen. Levin explained that the assault lasted about 10 minutes, even though she was clearly wearing a protective vest that identified her as a journalist.

For his part, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - who has always downplayed settler violence - tried to cast doubt on the incident of an attack on Friday. Although he said that Israel "categorically condemns violence against anyone," he did not issue any condemnation of the masked and armed settlers who appeared in a video attacking Levin.