European diplomats attacked by Israeli settlers in West Bank

Key points

• Masked Israeli settlers attacked a European diplomatic delegation visiting the West Bank village of Taybeh.
• Belgium said its consul general was among those attacked and called for those responsible to face justice.
• Netanyahu's office questioned the reports and suggested a campaign to smear Israel.

A delegation of European diplomats was attacked by masked Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, according to the BBC. The envoys, from Belgium, France, Poland and the Catholic Church, were visiting the largely Christian village of Taybeh near Ramallah to assess the situation after near-daily settler attacks on Palestinians bringing in their olive harvest.

Video from the scene showed masked settlers confronting the convoy, and reports suggest stones were thrown. Belgian authorities said a consulate car window was smashed and a French mayor was assaulted.

Belgium condemns attack

Belgium's foreign minister, Maxime Prevot, condemned the attack and said Israel had a responsibility to bring those responsible to justice. He said Palestinians face such violence every day, and that settlers also target journalists and diplomats.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar strongly condemned the violence by what he called "Israeli rioters" and said the foreign ministry was in contact with the ambassadors of the countries involved. He added that it was unfortunate the visit was not coordinated with the IDF in advance.

It's the gratuitous nature of the violence that stuns me

— Bernard Baudoux

Conflicting Israeli responses

The Israel Defense Forces condemned what they called "the severe act of violence" and said they were investigating. They said a preliminary inquiry found no IDF soldiers were present at the scene at the time.

The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged caution before drawing conclusions and said the images on social media do not establish the full sequence of events or individual responsibility. It said police and forensic investigators had launched an investigation, and suggested the reports were part of a coordinated campaign to smear Israel during the annual olive harvest.

The attack came a day after Palestinians and Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine were injured in a separate settler assault in another West Bank village. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called that attack "disturbing", and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee called it a "despicable act of terror carried out by masked cowards".