Israeli settlers attack European diplomats, French mayor in West Bank village

Israeli settlers attacked European diplomats, a French mayor and an archbishop in Taybeh in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, injuring three people and damaging a car. The Guardian

The assault focused on Bernard Baudoux, the mayor of Aulnoye-Aymeries in northern France. He was wearing his red, white and blue sash of office when he was knocked to the ground while trying to get into a vehicle with diplomatic plates. A witness said a masked man shouted "Vive la France" during the attack on Baudoux.

Baudoux was in Taybeh for the launch of a twinning agreement with his town. He had joined an olive harvest with the French consul general in Jerusalem and his wife, other diplomats, and the Belgian and Polish consuls. Baudoux's wife and Vincent Dollmann, the archbishop of Cambrai, were threatened by a group of seven men, some armed with clubs.

Witnesses said settlers first confronted a group working on the lower slopes of hills near Taybeh. A Palestinian woman in her seventies was assaulted, and a man was beaten so badly he needed six stitches for a head injury. The attackers smashed the window of an armoured car belonging to the Belgian mission.

Belgium's deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, Maxime Prévot, condemned the violence against Palestinians, foreign diplomats and journalists. Israeli police are investigating the attack. CNN

The incident follows weeks of violence around the olive harvest. Since 27 September, settlers have launched more than 170 attacks, according to Israeli rights group Yesh Din. Palestinian authorities say attacks in that period killed at least four people, injured more than 100 and damaged thousands of trees.

On Friday, Israeli militants attacked Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine as she reported on the harvest in Abu Falah. A spokesperson for Israel's Beilinson hospital said Levine required surgery on Saturday morning and is in "moderate" condition. A witness identified as Orfali said the masked men "threatened to kill us." ABC News