European diplomats attacked amid settler raids on West Bank olive harvest

Approximately seven masked settlers allegedly attacked Palestinian olive harvesters near the village of Taybeh in the West Bank on Saturday. The incident involved a diplomatic delegation that included the French consul, as well as Belgian and Polish diplomats, according to a report from Army Radio cited by the Jerusalem Post. Images from the scene show a diplomat on the ground and damage to a vehicle, while the Jerusalem Post reports that a window of a Belgian consulate vehicle was smashed.

An Israeli activist, Amit Orfali, stated that seven masked settlers armed with clubs surrounded vehicles, beat them, threatened to kill them, and demanded to see identity cards. Haaretz reports that the attack occurred during the olive harvest. In Taybeh, the village's mayor, Suleiman Khourieh, told Al Jazeera that the attack took place on Saturday afternoon.

The IDF condemned the attack, stating the diplomatic delegation did not coordinate the visit to Taybeh. Israel Police have opened an investigation into the assault and forwarded details to the Foreign Ministry. Separately, settlers reportedly killed around 20 sheep in a Palestinian village, according to The Times of Israel.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Times of Israel, Jerusalem Post, Middle East Eye, Haaretz — 4 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.