As outrage grew over an assault on European diplomats in the occupied West Bank, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the reporting as a “smear” campaign against settlers and sought to cast doubt on the circumstances of 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,” the office said, using the biblical name for the West Bank.
The statement followed a rare condemnation from Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, who criticised Israeli “rioters” for targeting a European diplomatic delegation near the village of Taybeh. “I strongly condemn the severe acts of violence by Israeli rioters in the area of Taybeh,” he said. He also faulted the diplomats and the consulates for not coordinating the visit with the Israeli military.
Witnesses and diplomats said Israeli settlers attacked a convoy of European diplomats and assaulted a visiting French mayor during clashes that have flared in the Palestinian olive harvest. Cars from the French, Belgian and Polish missions took diplomats to Taybeh, a largely Christian village, as settlers arrived and tried to stop Palestinians from gathering olives.
Witnesses said masked settlers confronted the visitors with aggressive remarks and then kicked Bernard Baudoux, 78, the leftist mayor of the northern French town of Aulnoye-Aymeries. Diplomats confirmed his identity. Video showed him 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 olive harvest has been particularly violent, with settlers trying to physically prevent Palestinians from collecting their crops. A day earlier, settlers seriously injured Heidi Levine, an American photographer for The Washington Post, while she covered the harvest. Last week, settlers beat an AFP photographer.
The incidents have come in the closing stretch of an election campaign in which Mr Netanyahu has championed settlers while seeking their backing. Israeli officials condemned the assault on the diplomatic convoy. After the attack on the Washington Post photographer, Mr Netanyahu suggested Palestinians or “far-left” activists shared responsibility.
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.