Masked Israeli settlers carried out an attack in a Palestinian town where residents and European diplomats were participating in the olive harvest on Saturday, spurring international condemnation a day after a similar assault injured several Palestinians and a U.S. journalist in the occupied West Bank.
The episode took place in Taybeh, a Christian town north of Jerusalem, when Palestinians were gathering olives alongside French, Polish and Belgian diplomats who were in attendance to show solidarity, Palestinian residents, local officials and witnesses said.
The extremists beat a teenager, pushed an older woman and smashed the window of a Belgian diplomatic vehicle, said Suleiman Khourieh, the mayor of Taybeh. They also scuffled with the visiting mayor of a French town that had recently become a “sister city” of Taybeh, he said.
“This violence shows nobody is protected — not Palestinians, not journalists and not diplomats,” Mr. Khourieh said.
On Friday, Israeli settlers beat a group of Palestinians and Heidi Levine, a longtime photographer for the Washington Post, with bats and sticks. Ms. Levine, 63, was in moderate condition after undergoing surgery on Saturday, according to Beilinson Hospital in central Israel. She suffered a broken rib and lacerations on her legs, rear end and hip, as well as a serious cut on her left hand, according to her family.
A handful of Israeli activists opposed to settler violence who tried to go to the scene of the attacks on Saturday were stopped by club-wielding settlers who had set up a roadblock on the village outskirts, said Amit Orfali, a member of Torat Tzedek, a rights group. He shared several videos of the altercation, as well as what he said was a photo of the broken window of the Belgian vehicle.
About 500,000 Israeli settlers live in occupied West Bank alongside some three million Palestinians. Israelis living in the territory generally enjoy the same rights and privileges as their compatriots inside Israel proper, while Palestinians there live under military rule.
Attacks by Jewish extremists in the West Bank have escalated dramatically over the past three years alongside the devastating war in Gaza, which was ignited by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Settler violence in the West Bank has forced some Palestinians to flee their homes, emptying communities.
The assaults have spiraled over the past several weeks, as settlers have attacked Palestinians as they have harvested olives, a culturally and economically significant practice in the West Bank. Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights group that monitors settler violence, said on Friday that it had documented 82 violent incidents since late September.
The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said in a statement that it would “urge caution before drawing conclusions” about Saturday’s incident. He said that there were “concerns about a coordinated campaign to smear Israel” and Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
Some Israeli officials criticized Saturday’s attack, with the Israeli military calling it a “severe act of violence” by “Israeli rioters.” The military said the diplomats had not informed the military of their visit beforehand, which could have helped prevent the violence. It added that an investigation had been opened into the violence.
The Israeli government and military have been criticized for not doing enough to crack down on rising settler attacks against Palestinians. The vast majority of police investigations over the past two decades have not lead to indictments or convictions, according to Yesh Din.
The Polish government confirmed that a convoy carrying members of its diplomatic corps was attacked in the West Bank and said preliminary information indicated Israeli settlers may have been responsible.
“We expect the Israeli authorities to provide urgent and detailed explanations, identify those responsible and ensure that they are held accountable,” the Polish foreign ministry said in a statement.
Maxime Prévot, the Belgian foreign minister, denounced the attack. “Harvesting olives, reporting the news or carrying out diplomatic duties should never put anyone at risk of attack,” Mr. Prévot said in a statement on social media. “Impunity for violent settlers must end.”
The French foreign ministry did not respond for a request for comment.
Fatima AbdulKarim contributed reporting from Ramallah, West Bank.
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