Israeli settlers attacked diplomats from three countries: 78-year-old French mayor beaten during olive harvest

78-year-old French mayor Bernard Baudu came to the West Bank together with European diplomats to support Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest. He was wearing the official tricolor sash of a French mayor, but even that did not stop the attackers: masked men beat the politician with metal rods and kicked him, knocking him to the ground.

The attack occurred on Saturday, October 17, near the Palestinian village of Taybeh. The delegation included diplomats from France, Belgium and Poland, as well as representatives of the Catholic Church. The attackers damaged a car belonging to the Belgian diplomatic mission. This was reported by AFP and The Guardian.

French mayor not protected even by official sash

Bernard Baudu is the mayor of Aulnoye-Aymeries in northern France. He came to Taybeh to participate in an event establishing sister-city relations and joined a symbolic olive harvest with local residents.

According to witnesses, a group of seven masked men approached the participants. Some were armed with clubs and metal rods.

First, the attackers assaulted Palestinian farmers. Local priest Bashar Fawadleh said an elderly woman was beaten, and one man suffered a head injury that required six stitches.

Then the settlers went towards the European delegation.

Baudu, wearing the official sash in the colors of the French flag, tried to get into a car with diplomatic plates. However, one of the attackers lunged at him, hit him and knocked him to the ground.

According to a witness, the masked man shouted "Vive la France!" — "Long live France!".

The mayor was kicked and beaten with metal rods. After the attack, he was seen sitting on the ground near the car. Despite the incident, he did not require hospitalization.

Also threatened were the mayor's wife and Archbishop Vincent Dollmann of Cambrai, who were among the trip participants.

"I will return home, and they will remain here"

After the attack, Baudu told AFP that the incident made him think about the situation of local residents who face such violence regularly.

"I will return to my country, and I will be fine. Those who remain here will continue to suffer the most," said the French mayor.

In his opinion, what is happening indicates insufficient counteraction to violence by Israeli authorities. This is Baudu's own assessment, not an established result of an investigation.

Local priest Bashar Fawadleh noted that Taybeh residents have faced settler attacks for many years. However, he said, foreign diplomats had not previously been direct targets of such attacks here.

France, Belgium and Poland demand reaction

The attack provoked a sharp diplomatic response.

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévôt confirmed that the Belgian consul general, French and Polish diplomats, and representatives of the Catholic Church were among the trip participants.

He said that Belgian mission staff are safe, but one diplomatic car was damaged.

Prévôt condemned the attack and stated that Belgium will continue to push for European Union sanctions against settlers involved in violence. In his words, harvesting, journalistic work and performing diplomatic duties should not involve risk of attack.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot demanded that Israel stop the violence and arrest those responsible for the beating of Baudu. Poland also condemned the attack on diplomatic mission representatives.

Israel launched investigation, but dispute arose over diplomats' visit

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar condemned the attack and said police had opened an investigation. He said Israel's Foreign Ministry is in contact with representatives of the affected countries.

The Israeli military called the incident a serious act of violence, but stressed that the diplomats' trip had not been coordinated with the army in advance and there were no soldiers directly at the scene of the attack.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged awaiting the results of an inquiry into the circumstances. He also questioned the interpretation of the incident, pointing to a possible campaign to discredit Israel and settlers.

At the same time, European diplomats insist on the need to protect foreign representatives and Palestinian civilians regardless of advance coordination.

At the time of publication, there were no reports of arrests of suspected attackers.

More than 170 attacks since start of olive harvest season

The incident occurred amid a rise in violence in the West Bank during the annual olive harvest — one of the most important sources of income for many Palestinian families.

According to the Israeli human rights organization Yesh Din, more than 170 settler attacks have been recorded since September 27. Palestinian authorities report at least four killed and more than one hundred wounded during this period.

Just a day before the attack on the European delegation, on October 16, American photojournalist Heidi Levine of The Washington Post was seriously wounded while covering the harvest.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington is concerned about the situation and called on Israeli authorities to more actively stop settler attacks.

The Taybeh incident attracted particular attention from European governments: violence during the harvest has now directly affected foreign diplomats and an official representative of the French authorities.

For local residents, the main question remains whether they will be able to harvest safely after the international delegation leaves.

Based on: AFP, The Guardian, Associated Press, Deutsche Welle