Israeli settlers attacked a convoy of European diplomats on Saturday and beat a visiting French mayor during the Palestinian olive harvest in the occupied West Bank, witnesses and diplomats said. Polish diplomats were with the group, alongside the senior French and Belgian representatives in Jerusalem.
Bernard Baudoux, the 78-year-old mayor of Aulnoye-Aymeries in northern France, said masked settlers shouted defamatory comments about France, kicked him and struck him with iron bars as he joined Palestinian olive farmers. Wearing a sash in the colours of the French flag, he was seen collapsed beside a car after the assault. He did not need hospital care.
“I think that if settlers are behaving like this, there is a tolerance on the part of the Israeli government,” Baudoux said after the attack. “The whole world needs to know what’s happening,” he said. “For me, I’ll go back to my country and everything will be fine. Those who continue to suffer the most are those who are here.”
Baudoux had come to Taybeh, a Christian stronghold, with his pastor from France to sign a goodwill agreement. He was attacked as he joined the harvest as a symbolic gesture. Olives are an important cultural symbol for Palestinians. Bashar Fawadleh, a priest in Taybeh, said settlers had already attacked the harvest and snatched olives before beating the mayor. “One person was hit in the head and needed stitches. They also beat up an older lady in her 70s after insulting her with very bad words,” he said.
The attack came one day after settlers beat Heidi Levine, an American photographer for The Washington Post. On Saturday she was in moderate condition with broken vertebrae. Israel’s foreign ministry condemned the attack on the diplomats, and Israeli police promised to open an investigation.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, days before an election on 27 October in which he is seeking support from the far right, alleged a “smear” campaign against settlers. He said the diplomats should have coordinated their movements with the Israeli military and noted that Baudoux is a communist known for supporting the Palestinian cause. “We urge caution before drawing conclusions,” his office said.
His main rival, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, strongly criticised Netanyahu and said the violence was “burning away the little legitimacy the State of Israel still possesses”. “Jewish terrorism, under the auspices of the Israeli government,” Eisenkot said of the attacks. Belgium called for an end to “impunity for violent settlers”.
Extremist Israelis have issued calls to stop the Palestinian harvest after months of growing attacks in which settlers have stolen land and property. There has also been violence against Israelis, with a Palestinian shooting a settler dead last month. West Bank violence has shocked much of the world, and Britain has led economic sanctions that drew outrage from Netanyahu. He has also sought to cast doubt on the circumstances of Levine’s beating, alleging that Palestinians and “far-left” activists caused trouble.