European diplomats attacked by Israeli settlers near West Bank olive harvest
A delegation of European officials was assaulted by Israeli settlers near the village of Taybeh, prompting an Israeli police investigation and calls for EU sanctions.
Israeli settlers confronted a group of European diplomats, including Belgium’s consul general, French and Polish officials and Catholic representatives, as they visited olive harvesters near the West Bank village of Taybeh on Saturday. The settlers surrounded the vehicles, threw stones and broke windows, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said, adding that a French mayor was assaulted and a Belgian vehicle damaged.
"There is a tolerance on the part of the Israeli government towards settler violence," French mayor Bernard Baudoux told AFP.
The incident follows a separate assault on a U.S. journalist north of Ramallah and has triggered an Israeli police investigation. Belgium announced condemnation of the attack, linking it to Israel’s settlement policy and urging further EU sanctions.
Earlier on Saturday, Palestinian farmers were injured in several incidents across the occupied West Bank. In Ma’in village, four women and a child were among six people wounded when settlers attacked residents, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society. In Deir Ammar, Israeli forces fired on olive pickers, forcing them to leave their fields, while settlers shot two Palestinians in the same area.
Reporters noted that settlers have been destroying olive trees and blocking harvests in multiple locations, including the Beit Furik plain and Deir Jarir, often with the protection of Israeli troops. Al Jazeera correspondent Nour Odeh described the pattern as part of a broader campaign, citing more than 300 documented attacks since early October that have disrupted the harvest season.
The violence has been linked to a religious edict issued by Rabbi Dov Lior, who argued that harvesting olives in the West Bank is permissible and serves to demonstrate Jewish ownership of the land. Odeh said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not taken concrete steps to curb the attacks, noting that politicians allow the violence to continue ahead of upcoming elections.