Polish diplomats caught in settler assault near Taybeh olive groves

Israeli settlers assaulted European diplomats, including a French mayor, near the Palestinian village of Taybeh in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, October 17, 2026. Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Prevot said the attackers targeted Belgium’s consul general, French and Polish diplomats, and Catholic representatives. The delegation was visiting Palestinian olive harvesters when the group was confronted.

Prevot said a French mayor was assaulted and a Belgian vehicle damaged. He linked the incident to Israel’s “illegal settlement policy” and pledged to push for further EU sanctions. Bernard Baudoux, the French mayor who was assaulted, told AFP the attack suggests “there is a tolerance on the part of the Israeli government” towards settler violence.

Video shared by activist Amit Orfali shows Baudoux leaning against a vehicle while sitting on the dusty ground. Other clips showed young masked men knocking insistently on a driver’s side window and asking for identification, while other masked men carrying sticks advanced in the distance. Orfali said the masked men “threatened to kill us”.

France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot called on Israel to arrest the “extremist settlers” who “violently assaulted” Baudoux and bring them to justice. “They must urgently halt this criminal violence and guarantee the safety of civilian populations, as they are compelled to do under international law,” he wrote on X.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office appeared to question the reports, saying on X that they are “alleged” and require “compelling evidence”, while acknowledging that published footage exists. On Sunday the EU condemned settler attacks on European diplomats and Palestinians. “We take positive note of statements by several Israeli representatives who condemned the attacks,” the EU said, while expecting “full accountability” and measures to prevent violence against Palestinians during the olive harvest and against journalists.

The assaults come amid a surge in settler attacks across the occupied West Bank in recent weeks, coinciding with olive harvest season and falling weeks before Israel heads to the polls on October 27.

On October 16, Palestinian farmers harvesting olives and veteran American journalist Heidi Levine, 64, who freelances for the Washington Post, were attacked by settlers. Witnesses said Levine fell to the ground and was then set upon. Independent journalist Jasper Nathaniel told Al Jazeera: “We looked and saw that there was a journalist … on the ground with people surrounding her, beating her, clubbing her, robbing her, pulling her up, beating her again and kicking her.” Levine later said her attackers “just kept kicking me and kicking me, like probably 50 times”. She was wearing a vest marked “PRESS”. The Washington Post reported that her cameras and phone were taken. Nathaniel said she was in very bad shape and could not get up; as people helped her toward paramedics, settlers charged again and threw more stones. She was taken to a hospital in Ramallah.

Nathaniel said Israeli soldiers arrived after the settler assault, opened fire and used tear gas against Palestinians, shooting a man in the leg. “They do nothing to stop the settlers, and they speed into town and start firing their guns and tear-gassing,” he said, adding that soldiers pointed guns at paramedics and shoved journalists. Wafa reported that Israeli forces fired live ammunition and tear gas. After the soldiers left, Palestinians returned to harvesting, Nathaniel said. Netanyahu’s office said the facts “remain unclear” and called for an investigation into “who initiated the violence”.

On October 6, settlers beat Palestinian AFP photographer Jaafar Ashtiyeh, 58, with rifle butts near Aqraba, south of Nablus. He suffered bruises to his head and torso and was taken by ambulance to a hospital, according to witnesses, his family and fellow journalists cited by AFP. Photographer John Wessels was with him. AFP reported that a quadbike raced toward the journalists and a man opened live fire, then at least six other people rushed toward them firing guns. As Ashtiyeh tried to enter a car marked “Press”, two men jumped on him and beat him with rifle butts. Wessels, threatened at gunpoint, said he could hear Ashtiyeh’s screams. Ashtiyeh was later conscious in a Nablus hospital; Wessels said the assailants took his camera equipment. The Israeli military had yet to respond to AFP.

On July 11, US Congressional Representative Ro Khanna said he and his tour group were detained by rifle-wielding Israeli settlers during a trip to Palestine. He wrote on X that when the Israeli army arrived, “they sided with the settlers and continued our detention.” Khanna, a Democrat considering a 2028 presidential run, told Reuters that “hoodlums … with machine guns” blocked the road and called the military, which he said was on their side. He said the settlers carried US-made assault rifles. In a DRM News interview he said it was the first time he had “really been acutely aware of being brown,” describing young settlers and soldiers who detained Americans. The Israeli military disputed his account, saying it “dispersed” civilians blocking the road. Israeli officials ruled out apologising or holding the settlers accountable. On October 17, Khanna called Netanyahu a “liar” after the prime minister’s office questioned the Levine attack, writing that Netanyahu had called him a liar when settlers detained him and a New York Times photographer in Zanuta in July.

In November 2025, one Canadian and three Italian activists were injured by settlers in Ein ad-Duyuk in the Jericho governorate, local sources told Anadolu. Settlers stormed a Bedouin community where the activists were staying. Three sustained moderate injuries and one was critically wounded; passports, phones and belongings were taken, Anadolu said.

Palestinian activist and English teacher Awdah Hathaleen, who contributed to the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, was shot and killed on July 28, 2025, in Umm al-Khair in the Masafer Yatta region. The 31-year-old father of three fell as people tried to help him; an ambulance from the nearby settlement of Carmel then took him away. Footage published by B’Tselem appears to show suspect Yinon Levi opening fire during a confrontation. Despite that footage and earlier EU and US sanctions on Levi over past attacks, Israeli authorities released him to house arrest. US President Donald Trump removed penalties against Levi and other settlers accused of extremist violence after taking office in January 2025.

In a separate incident, settlers attacked foreign volunteers helping Palestinian farmers. David Hummel, an American-German, told AFP that eight mainly American volunteers were working in an olive grove near Qusra when settlers beat them with sticks and metal pipes and threw rocks. He said he was struck on his legs, arms and jaw. The Israeli army condemned the violence, said troops were deployed and had fired warning shots into the air, and said the settlers then fled.