A timeline of West Bank attacks on Palestinians and foreign officials

Key points

• European diplomats, including a French mayor, were assaulted by Israeli settlers near Taybeh in the occupied West Bank on Saturday.
• American journalist Heidi Levine, 64, was beaten and robbed while covering the olive harvest, witnesses said.
• The EU condemned the attacks and called for accountability and measures to prevent further violence.

Israeli settlers attacked European diplomats and a French mayor near the Palestinian village of Taybeh in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, according to Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot. The delegation was visiting Palestinian olive harvesters when the attackers confronted the group, and Prevot said a Belgian vehicle was also damaged.

The incident came a day after American journalist Heidi Levine, 64, who freelances for the Washington Post, was beaten and robbed while covering the harvest, witnesses said. The attacks coincide with olive harvest season and come weeks before Israel's election on October 27.

What officials said

Prevot linked the incident to Israel's "illegal settlement policy" and pledged to push for further EU sanctions. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot called on Israel to arrest the "extremist settlers" and bring them to justice.

The EU condemned the attacks on Sunday, saying it expected "full accountability" and effective measures to prevent further violence against Palestinians and journalists. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office described reports of the attack on the Europeans as "alleged" and said they require "compelling evidence".

They must urgently halt this criminal violence and guarantee the safety of civilian populations, as they are compelled to do under international law.

— Jean-Noel Barrot

Other attacks on journalists

Witness Jasper Nathaniel told Al Jazeera that Levine was surrounded, beaten, clubbed and robbed during the assault. Levine later told reporters her attackers "just kept kicking me and kicking me, like probably 50 times". Nathaniel said Israeli soldiers arrived afterwards and opened fire and used tear gas against Palestinians, shooting a man in the leg.

In a separate incident, Israeli settlers beat AFP photographer Jaafar Ashtiyeh, 58, with rifle butts near Aqraba, south of Nablus, according to witnesses, his family and fellow journalists cited by AFP. He suffered bruises to his head and torso and was taken to a hospital in Nablus.