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Israeli settlers attacked European diplomats in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, just a day after a Washington Post photojournalist was severely beaten by Jewish extremists.
A convoy carrying French, Belgian and Polish officials to the Palestinian town of Taybeh for the olive harvest was attacked by a group of masked settlers, according to testimonies and videos from the scene as well as Israeli and European officials.
The attackers demanded identification from the group, threatened to kill them and broke the window of one of the vehicles.
A visiting French mayor was injured in the incident, according to Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot, who condemned the assault “in the strongest possible terms” and said his government would “continue to press for the EU to impose sanctions against those responsible for this violence and those who support it.”
“Palestinians face this violence every day,” he added. “Settlers also target journalists and diplomats. Harvesting olives, covering news or carrying out diplomatic duties should never put anyone at risk of attack.”
Palestinian media reported new attacks on Saturday in neighboring villages in the central West Bank, with Israeli settlers throwing stones at residents trying to harvest their olive groves and stealing agricultural equipment. The number of injured was not immediately specified.
The surge in settler violence, already the worst in two decades according to official UN data, follows similar attacks on Friday in the West Bank, which injured at least 19 people.
Heidi Levine, a veteran photojournalist for the Washington Post, was beaten by dozens of settlers in the village of Abu Falah.
Levine, 63, underwent successful hand surgery in an Israeli hospital on Saturday. She is also being treated for lacerations to her legs and injuries to her ribs and vertebrae, according to Israeli medical officials and family members.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday appeared to question the “facts surrounding the confrontation” in which Levine was allegedly “attacked.”
Responding to X, Washington Post editor Matt Murray said the facts were “neither disputed nor unclear” and demanded “thorough investigation and accountability.”
Israeli settlers have long operated with near-total impunity, particularly over the past three years under Netanyahu’s far-right government. The Israeli army and police rarely stop settlers from carrying out attacks and only a fraction of them are convicted, according to former Israeli security officials and human rights groups.
There have been more than 1,600 Jewish settler attacks on Palestinians and their property this year, according to OCHA, the UN’s humanitarian arm, putting 2026 on track to be the worst year since the agency began tracking settler violence in 2006.
In response to Saturday’s attack on the European convoy, the Israeli military said it “strongly condemns this serious act of violence” and said it was accompanying police investigators to the scene to collect evidence and take testimony.
Gideon Sa’ar, Israel’s foreign minister, condemned the attack and said his ministry was in contact with relevant embassies to facilitate the investigation and bring the attackers to justice.
“Without diminishing the seriousness of the incident, it is regrettable that the visit was not coordinated in advance with the Israeli army. Such coordination could have helped ensure the safety of the visitors,” he added.
On Saturday, Netanyahu called the incident an alleged attack on European diplomats and said “serious accusations require serious evidence.”
“This information comes amid concerns about a coordinated campaign to defame Israel and Jewish residents of the (West Bank) during the annual olive harvest, relying on sensational headlines before all the facts are revealed,” he said.
Gadi Eisenkot, Netanyahu’s main opponent in the October 27 parliamentary elections, said on X: “What is happening in the West Bank is Jewish terror under the auspices of the Israeli government. »
His condemnation was echoed by Yair Golan, leader of the left-wing Democrats and former Israeli deputy military chief. He said Netanyahu’s government is “drowning us all in a sea of terror” and vowed to fight “Jewish terrorism…with an iron fist” if the opposition wins the election.
“No immunity for Jewish terrorists. No compromise on nationalist violence. Israeli law must apply to everyone,” Golan added.
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