Israeli Settlers Attack Foreign Media And Diplomats In West Bank. Israel Questions The Reports.
Israeli settlers attacked a group of European diplomats, including a 78-year old French mayor, as they were visiting the Palestinian Christian village of Taybeh in the West Bank on Saturday.
The attacks, which saw the window of a Belgian consular vehicle smashed and both Belgian Consul General in Jerusalem Anick Van Calster as well as French Mayor Bernard Baudoux of Aulnoye-Aymeries assaulted, were confirmed by both Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency, and local Israeli media such as Haaretz.
International condemnation, especially in the diplomats’ home nations, was swift.
“I condemn in the strongest terms the attack by masked settlers in Taybeh, in the occupied West Bank, against Palestinians, our Consul General, French and Polish diplomats as well as catholic representatives. A French mayor was assaulted and a Belgian vehicle damaged.” Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot posted on X on Saturday.
“Palestinians face this violence every day … this violence cannot be separated from Israel’s illegal settlement policy. Belgium condemns settlement expansion and attempts to forcibly displace Palestinians from their land. The occupation of the Palestinian territory must end.” the Belgian diplomat continued.
The attacks on foreign representatives follow a similar incident reported on Friday, when a Washington Post photojournalist named Heidi Levine was, alongside a group of Palestinians gathering their autumn olive harvest, attacked by masked Israeli settlers.
Levine was wearing a vest marked “PRESS” on the front and back during the incident, according to the Washington Post. She was hospitalized as a result of her injuries.
Israeli authorities have expressed skepticism about the veracity of both incidents. On Saturday, the Office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that “the facts surrounding the confrontation near Abu Falah, during which Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine was allegedly assaulted, remain unclear and are under investigation.”
Matt Murray, the executive editor of the Washington Post, refuted these claims.
“Some facts are neither in dispute nor unclear. Our photographer was clearly marked as Press. She was clearly beaten,” Murray asserted.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog, however, admitted the settlers’ culpability, stating on Saturday that he had spoken to Levine and that “the despicable behavior of these criminals does not represent the citizens or values of the state.”
Netanyahu’s office released a similar statement after the attacks on European diplomats
“We urge caution before drawing conclusions from today’s reports that European diplomats were attacked by masked Israelis in Judea and Samaria. Any violence against diplomats is unacceptable. The more serious the accusation, the greater the demand for compelling evidence,” the statement read.
The office also remarked that Bernard Baudoux was “a French Communist Party mayor who previously raised the Palestinian flag over his municipal building” and referenced “concerns about a coordinated campaign to smear Israel and the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria during the annual olive harvest.”
Judea and Samaria is the official name used by the Israeli authorities to refer to the West Bank, a territory which the UN recognizes as Palestinian but under Israeli occupation. The UN also maintains that all Israeli settlements within the West Bank represent a violation of international law.
