Masked Israeli settlers attack European diplomats in occupied West Bank

Masked Israeli settlers attacked a delegation of European diplomats on Saturday in the occupied West Bank village of Taybeh, according to Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot. The convoy included Belgium's consul general, French and Polish diplomats, and Catholic representatives. A French mayor, Bernard Baudoux, was assaulted, and a window of a Belgian consular vehicle was smashed.

Baudoux, the 78-year-old mayor of Aulnoye-Aymeries in northern France, told AFP that settlers kicked him and beat him with iron bars, throwing him to the ground. "It's the gratuitous nature of the violence that stuns me," he said. "They arrived completely enraged." He suffered minor injuries.

The diplomats had traveled to Taybeh, a predominantly Christian village near Ramallah, to assess conditions during the annual olive harvest, which has seen near-daily settler attacks on Palestinian farmers. Since the harvest began, at least four people have been killed and more than 100 injured, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Belgium condemned the attack and said it would push for EU sanctions against those responsible. "Harvesting olives, reporting the news or carrying out diplomatic duties should never put anyone at risk of attack," Prevot said. France called the assault "appalling" and demanded that Israel bring those responsible to justice. Poland's foreign ministry called for a "firm response" and an end to the "spiral of violence."

The EU condemned the attacks and urged Israel to abide by international law and end settlement expansion. A spokesperson said the bloc expects "full accountability as well as effective measures" to stop violence against Palestinians and journalists.

Israel's military called the attack "a severe act of violence" and said it was investigating, but noted that the visit had not been coordinated with the IDF and no soldiers were present. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar strongly condemned the violence by "Israeli rioters" and said his ministry was in contact with ambassadors from the countries involved.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, however, urged "caution before drawing conclusions" and suggested the reports were part of a "coordinated campaign to smear Israel and the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria during the annual olive harvest." It said Israeli police and forensic investigators had launched an investigation to identify those responsible.

The attack came one day after Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine was injured in a separate settler assault in the West Bank village of Abu Falah. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called that incident "disturbing" and said Washington has asked Israel to crack down on settler violence.