European diplomats attacked by Israeli settlers in West Bank; separate assault on U.S. photojournalist draws condemnation

Saturday attack on European diplomatic convoy

Masked Israeli settlers attacked a convoy of European diplomats near the Palestinian village of Taybeh in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, shattering a vehicle window and injuring three people, including the French mayor of Aulnoye-Aymeries, Bernard Baudoux, and the Archbishop of Cambrai, according to video footage and diplomatic statements. The delegation had been accompanying Palestinian farmers during the annual olive harvest when settlers confronted them, pursued their vehicles and beat Baudoux, leaving him lying beside a diplomatic car. France decried the assault as "appalling," Belgium condemned the attack on its consul general and other envoys, and the European Union denounced what it called unprecedented settler pogroms during the harvest season. (Al Jazeera; BBC News; The Guardian)

Baudoux, who leads the northern French town of Aulnoye-Aymeries, said masked settlers assaulted his delegation while they were picking olives near Taybeh and that he was personally beaten. He added that the delegation has lodged a formal protest with the Israeli government. Footage filmed by activists and verified by The Guardian shows settlers attacking the diplomatic car carrying Baudoux, shattering a window, and a second clip captures the immediate aftermath with Baudoux on the ground beside the vehicle. The Archbishop of Cambrai was also present with the delegation, according to Guardian reporting. (Al Jazeera)

Friday attack on American photojournalist Heidi Levine

The Saturday assault came one day after a separate attack on Friday in which masked Israeli settlers beat Heidi Levine, a 63-year-old award-winning photojournalist for The Washington Post, while she documented settlers attacking Palestinian olive harvesters in West Bank towns. Levine suffered broken vertebrae and was hospitalized in moderate condition at a facility in Petah Tikva near Tel Aviv. The Washington Post photographer was set upon by settlers using clubs and other weapons, according to multiple reports. (FRANCE 24; PBS News; The Guardian)

Israeli and U.S. official responses

Israeli President Isaac Herzog, whose role is largely ceremonial, called Levine in the hospital on Saturday, describing the attack as "outrageous and shocking" and saying it weighed on his conscience. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee denounced the assault on Levine as a "despicable act of terror carried out by masked cowards" and said the perpetrators should spend years in prison. Huckabee also posted on social media that attacking a female photographer is a "dishonorable act of senseless violence." Levine, from her hospital bed, told The Associated Press she was "shocked and insulted" that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to the attack on her as "alleged." (CBS News; PBS News; The Guardian)

Israeli military and government statements

The Israel Defense Forces condemned what they called "the severe act of violence" against the diplomatic convoy and said they were investigating. Israel's police and military also said they had opened investigations into Friday's attack on Levine. Netanyahu's office, however, said the diplomatic delegation "entered a sensitive area with a history of confrontations" without prior coordination with the Israeli military, and linked the reports to what it called 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." (BBC News; CBS News)

European and international condemnation

European and international condemnation was swift. France decried the Saturday attack as "appalling," Belgium condemned the assault on its consul general and other envoys, and the European Union condemned Israeli settler attacks on EU diplomats and Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Poland's foreign ministry also issued a statement regarding its diplomats who were among those targeted. The French mayor said his delegation has lodged a protest with the Israeli government. (Al Jazeera; Al Jazeera; BBC News)

Broader context: settler violence and impunity

The attacks occur against a backdrop of escalating settler violence during the olive harvest, which began in late September. Israeli rights group Yesh Din documented 377 incidents of violence involving settlers and soldiers in the two weeks through October 10, and says about 94% of investigations into settler violence since 2005 have ended without an indictment, with just 3% leading to full or partial convictions. Rights groups say hundreds of Palestinians have been attacked and a few killed during this harvest season alone. Some 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements alongside three million Palestinians; the settlements are illegal under international law. Netanyahu's government has ramped up settlement approvals, a policy critics link to the violence. (Al Jazeera; FRANCE 24; PBS News; The Guardian)

Investigations, diplomatic protests and what happens next

Israeli police and military investigations into both Friday's and Saturday's attacks are ongoing. The diplomatic delegation has formally protested to the Israeli government, and European capitals have lodged diplomatic protests. The incidents come as Netanyahu faces a looming election, with his government's settlement expansion policies under scrutiny. The IDF has said it is coordinating with police on the investigations, while the prime minister's office has cast doubt on the veracity of the reports, alleging a coordinated smear campaign. The United Nations and rights groups continue to document the surge in violence, but accountability remains rare. (Al Jazeera; CBS News; The Guardian)