Settlers in Taybeh attack European diplomats

Key Takeaways

The attack	Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot said masked settlers attacked his consul general, French and Polish diplomats, and Catholic representatives in Taybeh on Saturday, Oct. 17. He said a French mayor was assaulted and a Belgian vehicle was damaged, and that his team was safe.
The mayor	Bernard Baudoux wrote that masked men with metal bars struck him and threw him down, and that he was fine. The AFP, via RTÉ, said the 78-year-old was hurt but did not need a hospital. The BBC's summary of that interview says iron bars.
Israel's accounts	The Israel Defense Forces and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar condemned an attack by Israeli rioters and said the visit was not coordinated with the army. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the images do not identify who is responsible and warned of a smear campaign.
What's next	Police said an investigation is open. Belgium said it will press the European Union to sanction violent settlers and their supporters. No statement published Saturday, Oct. 17, named a suspect in custody.

Masked settlers in Taybeh, in the occupied West Bank, attacked European diplomats on Saturday, Oct. 17, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot said. The Israel Defense Forces said Israeli rioters attacked diplomatic representatives there the same day. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office urged caution before assigning blame.

The settlers in Taybeh confrontation

Prévot said the visitors were in Taybeh, which the BBC described as a largely Christian village near Ramallah, for the Palestinian olive harvest. He condemned "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, a Belgian vehicle was damaged, and "Our team is safe," he wrote. The Associated Press reported that the group had also come to sign a twinning agreement with the mayor's town.

Video from activist Amit Orfali shows the mayor on the ground against a vehicle, the AP reported, along with masked men knocking on a driver's window and asking for identification, and others carrying sticks. Orfali said they "threatened to kill us." The BBC, citing Belgian authorities, said a consulate car window was smashed. WAFA said attackers with clubs struck on the evening of Saturday, Oct. 17, east of Ramallah, and that footage showed one of the consuls knocked to the ground. The AP identified the person on the ground as the mayor, not a consul. Al Jazeera's Nour Odeh, reporting from Ramallah, said settlers threw stones and smashed windows. The AP's description of the clips does not mention stones.

What Bernard Baudoux told reporters

Baudoux, whom the BBC called the left-wing mayor of Aulnoye-Aymeries in northern France, wrote the account the AP quoted. "Three vehicles arrived. Several masked individuals, armed with metal bars, got out and came toward us with extreme aggressiveness," he wrote. He put on a sash in the colors of the French flag. "That didn't stop them. I was struck with metal bars and kicked before being thrown to the ground." He wrote that he was fine.

The BBC's summary of his AFP interview says the settlers kicked him and beat him with iron bars. "It's the gratuitous nature of the violence that stuns me," he said. "They arrived completely enraged." He told the AFP, "Those who continue to suffer the most are those who are here." RTÉ, citing the AFP, gave his age as 78 and said two people who spoke with him said he was hurt but did not need a hospital.

France's foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, wrote that Baudoux was "violently assaulted by extremist settlers," the AP reported, and that Israeli authorities must "ensure the safety of civilians, as they are required to do under international law."

Where Israel's statements split

The BBC quoted the IDF condemning "the severe act of violence that took place in the area of Taybeh, during which diplomatic representatives were attacked by Israeli rioters." A preliminary inquiry found that "no IDF soldiers were present at the scene at the time of the attack." The Jerusalem Post quoted the army saying the report "was sent to the brigade operations room, which is designated to receive reports from security personnel only, and not from civilians." The military and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar both said the consulates had not coordinated the visit with the IDF.

Sa'ar wrote, "I strongly condemn the severe acts of violence by Israeli rioters in the area of Taybeh." Coordinating with the army in advance "could have helped safeguard the visitors' security," he wrote. A police statement said, "Efforts are underway to locate the victims, collect testimonies, and identify the suspects, with the aim of bringing them to justice," RTÉ reported, citing the AFP.

Netanyahu's office urged "caution before drawing conclusions from today's reports that European diplomats were attacked by masked Israelis in Judea and Samaria," the Jerusalem Post reported. Judea and Samaria is the name those officials use for the West Bank. "Any violence against diplomats is unacceptable," the office said, but "the more serious the accusation, the greater the demand for compelling evidence." Images of masked people, a smashed window, and a person on the ground do not "establish the complete sequence of events or individual responsibility," it said. It tied the coverage to "a coordinated campaign to smear Israel and the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria during the annual olive harvest."

Olive harvest violence before Tuesday, Oct. 27

On Friday, Oct. 16, settlers seriously injured Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine and others, the AP reported. The BBC said Palestinians were hurt that day in another West Bank village. Since the harvest began in October, at least four people have been killed and more than 100 injured, the Palestinian Health Ministry told the AP.

Israelis vote on Tuesday, Oct. 27, the Law Library of Congress reported. Gadi Eisenkot, whom the AP called Netanyahu's main rival, called the Taybeh violence "Jewish terror" and wrote that "a handful of criminals is burning up the last shreds of legitimacy left to the state of Israel."

Prévot said Belgium will press for European Union sanctions "against those responsible for this violence and those who support them," and he tied the attack to what he called Israel's "illegal settlement policy," the BBC reported. He did not describe an injury to the Belgian consul general. Police statements quoted on Saturday, Oct. 17, did not name a person in custody.