Polish diplomats attacked by settlers in West Bank, Belgium says

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said in an October 17 post that Israeli settlers attacked people in Taybeh, a largely Christian city in the West Bank. Those targeted included the Belgian consul general, French and Polish diplomats and Catholic representatives. A French mayor was assaulted and a Belgian vehicle was damaged.

The attacks came days after Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine was hospitalised following a violent assault by Israeli settlers on her and Palestinians she was with. The attack drew international condemnation, including from the United States, and Marco Rubio called it “disturbing”.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said social-media accounts of the diplomat attack “do not establish the complete sequence of events or individual responsibility”. He said the incident is still under investigation. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar condemned the attack and called those involved “rioters”.

Prevot said Palestinians face this violence every day and that settlers also target journalists and diplomats. “Harvesting olives, reporting the news or carrying out diplomatic duties should never put anyone at risk of attack,” he said. He added that Belgium will continue to press for EU sanctions against those responsible for the violence and those who support them.

European countries, including the UK, have increased sanctions on Israel in recent months over violence and incursions in the West Bank that violate boundaries drawn under international law for a potential Palestinian state. British sanctions have not been announced in full but are expected to cover companies involved in settlement activity, to criminalise property ownership in settlements by UK citizens, and to ban trade in settlement goods.

In a joint statement in August, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada and Norway said: “International law is clear that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal. This is the position of the international community reaffirmed by the United Nations Security Council.”