As outrage mounted over an assault on European diplomats in the occupied West Bank, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office pushed back on what it called a “smear” campaign against settlers, seeking to cast doubt on the circumstances surrounding the attack.
“These reports come amid concerns about a coordinated campaign to smear Israel and the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria during the annual olive harvest, relying on sensational headlines before the full facts emerge,” his office said in a statement, using the biblical name for the West Bank.
The statement came after Israel’s foreign minister issued a rare condemnation of settler violence, criticising Israeli “rioters” for targeting a European diplomatic delegation in an incident that unfolded near the village of Taybeh.
“I strongly condemn the severe acts of violence by Israeli rioters in the area of Taybeh,” Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said, while also faulting the diplomats for not coordinating with the Israeli military.
Witnesses and diplomats said Israeli settlers attacked a convoy of European diplomats and assaulted a visiting French mayor, marking an escalation in clashes that have flared during the Palestinian olive harvest.
According to accounts from witnesses, cars from the French, Belgian and Polish missions transported diplomats to Taybeh, a largely Christian village in the occupied West Bank, when settlers arrived and attempted to stop Palestinians from gathering olives.
Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Saar made a rare critical statement of settlers
Witnesses and diplomats said masked settlers confronted the visitors with aggressive remarks before kicking Bernard Baudoux, 78, the leftist mayor of the northern French town of Aulnoye-Aymeries. Diplomats also confirmed his identity.
Video footage showed Mr Baudoux, wearing a sash in the French tricolour, slumped on the ground against a car.
Two people who spoke to him said he was injured but did not need hospital treatment.
The West Bank has experienced a particularly violent olive harvest season, with settlers attempting to physically prevent Palestinians from collecting their crops.
Yesterday, settlers seriously injured an American photographer for The Washington Post as she was covering the harvest, and last week settlers beat up an AFP photographer.
The incidents have coincided with the closing stretch of an election campaign in which Mr Netanyahu has championed settlers while seeking their backing ahead of the upcoming poll.
Israeli officials swiftly condemned the assault on the diplomatic convoy, a markedly different response from Mr Netanyahu’s reaction to the attack on the Washington Post photographer, when he suggested Palestinians or “far-left” activists shared responsibility.
American photojournalist for The Washington Post Heidi Levine receives medical treatment in hospital
“I strongly condemn the severe acts of violence by Israeli rioters,” Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said.
But Mr Saar also criticised the consulates, saying they did not coordinate the visit with the military.
Israeli police said they had opened an investigation.
“Efforts are underway to locate the victims, collect testimonies, and identify the suspects, with the aim of bringing them to justice,” a police statement said.
