Israeli settlers attack European diplomats, beat French mayor

On Saturday, Israeli settlers attacked a convoy of European diplomats in the West Bank, resulting in a physical assault on a visiting French mayor, Bernard Baudoux. The 78-year-old mayor was reportedly beaten up and kicked by masked settlers while participating in a symbolic olive harvest alongside Palestinian farmers and top French and Belgian representatives.

The attackers allegedly hurled defamatory comments about France and hit Baudoux with iron bars. Mayor Baudoux, who was not hospitalized, stated that if the settlers continued behaving this way, it would indicate tolerance from the Israeli government. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot called for an urgent halt to the criminal violence and urged the arrest of those responsible.

The attack followed a similar incident involving an American photographer for The Washington Post, who was beaten by settlers earlier that day. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is seeking support from the far-right in the upcoming elections, accused the diplomats of creating a "smear campaign" against settlers and claimed that Baudoux was a communist supporting the Palestinian cause.

Netanyahu's main rival, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, strongly criticized Netanyahu over the violence, calling it "Jewish terrorism" perpetrated under the Israeli government's auspices. The West Bank violence has drawn international condemnation, with Britain leading economic sanctions that led to Israel closing its British consulate in Jerusalem.