In brief
Masked Israeli settlers targeted a convoy of European diplomats and Catholic representatives in the West Bank village of Taybeh, near Ramallah, throwing stones and damaging vehicles. Belgium’s foreign minister condemned the assault and called for justice, while the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) denounced the act as severe violence and launched an investigation. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office questioned the accounts, suggesting a smear campaign, yet admitted investigations were underway. The incident follows earlier violence against Palestinians during the olive harvest season and highlights escalating tensions in the region.
On Tuesday, a convoy of European diplomats and Catholic officials was violently confronted by masked settlers in the Christian village of Taybeh, near Ramallah, according to footage captured on the scene.
Belgium’s foreign minister, Maxime Prevot, condemned the assault, calling the acts “a severe violation of diplomatic protocol” and demanding Israel hold those responsible to account. He added that the safety of diplomats, journalists and ordinary Palestinians had to be guaranteed by the occupying power.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) denounced the incident as “the severe act of violence” that took place in Taybeh and said an initial inquiry found no IDF soldiers present at the time. The IDF vowed to investigate the attack further.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office warned that “caution should be exercised before drawing conclusions” from social‑media images, stating that investigations by Israeli police and forensic teams were ongoing to determine the full sequence of events.
The attack came a day after Israeli settlers violently confronted several Palestinians and a Washington Post photographer in another village during the olive‑harvest season. In the Taybeh incident, video showed settlers throwing stones and damaging a Belgian consular vehicle, while a French official was allegedly assaulted and a man wearing a French tricolor sash was found near a vehicle.
Netanyahu’s office named the French casualty as Bernard Baudoux, the left‑wing mayor of Aulnoye‑Aymeries, describing the incident as evidence that Israel’s right‑wing government tolerates settler violence.
All sides urge that regional tensions rise amid the annual olive‑harvest season, highlighting the fragile security situation in the West Bank.
