▲ A post related to the attack on European diplomats in the West Bank posted on social media
Israeli authorities have launched an investigation after European diplomats visiting an olive harvesting site in the West Bank were attacked by Israeli settlers.
According to the Israel Army Radio on the 17th (local time), the vehicles of diplomats from France, Belgium, and Poland—who were participating in olive harvesting work in the West Bank village of Taybeh—were indiscriminately attacked by Jewish settlers.
According to witnesses, seven masked settlers riding all-terrain vehicles surrounded the diplomats' vehicles and demanded identification.
During the incident, they reportedly went on a rampage by throwing stones and smashed the windows of a vehicle belonging to the Belgian consulate.
Footage released by the broadcasting station showed the diplomat's vehicle with shattered windows, along with a scene of one of the diplomats lying on the ground.
As the incident became known, the Israeli police obtained the relevant footage and immediately launched an investigation.
In an official statement, the police said, "We have reviewed the footage and immediately launched an investigation," adding, "We have also notified the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to locate the victims, secure statements, and identify the suspects."
They emphasized, "We strongly condemn any form of violence and will investigate thoroughly until all individuals involved in this incident face justice."
The Belgian government immediately expressed strong regret.
Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot stated on his X account that he condemns the incident "in the strongest possible terms," adding, "Impunity for violent settlers must end."
Prévot noted that the targeted diplomatic mission included the Belgian consul-general, and added, "This violence is not unconnected to Israel's illegal settlement policy. Belgium condemns settlement expansion and attempts to forcibly drive Palestinians from their land."
As the fallout grew, the Israeli government condemned the settlers' violence while also pointing out that the European diplomatic delegation's visit to the West Bank had not been coordinated in advance.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar posted on social media X, stating, "While I do not wish to minimize the gravity of this incident, it is regrettable that the visit schedule was not coordinated in advance with the Israel Defense Forces," and arguing, "Had there been prior coordination, it would have helped protect the visiting delegation."
He added, "The Foreign Ministry is communicating with ambassadors of the relevant countries to support judicial authorities in identifying the perpetrators and bringing them to justice."
The incident occurred amid a surge in violence by far-right settlement activists coinciding with the olive harvest, which is the peak farming season for Palestinians in the West Bank.
Recently across the West Bank, armed settlers have continuously disrupted farming by physically assaulting Palestinian farmers harvesting olives, threatening them at gunpoint, burning olive trees, or cutting them down with chainsaws.
Cases of fully harvested olives and farming equipment being looted are also frequent.
The previous day, in the village of Abu Falah, northeast of the central West Bank city of Ramallah and south of the Shilo settlement, about 80 armed settlers brutally assaulted a Washington Post female journalist and others.
Such acts of violence by settlers are not new and are a chronic problem that repeats every autumn during the olive harvest season.
It is viewed as overt harassment aimed at driving Palestinians from their livelihoods by disrupting olive farming, which is the core foundation of the Palestinian economy and survival. International society and human rights organizations have consistently condemned the recurring abuses by settlers and the lukewarm response of Israeli security forces.
(Photo: Capture from social media X, Yonhap News)
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