Masked Israeli Settlers Attack European Diplomatic Convoy In West Bank
The assault injured a French mayor and prompted calls from European officials for sanctions against violent settlers in the occupied territory.
Masked Israeli settlers attacked a European diplomatic convoy and foreign visitors on Saturday, October 17, 2026, in the Palestinian village of Taybeh.
The group of diplomats, church representatives, and foreign visitors was accompanying Palestinian farmers for the olive harvest east of Ramallah. Attackers wielded metal bars, shouted insults, and demanded identification from the visitors.
Settlers physically assaulted 78-year-old Bernard Baudoux, the mayor of the northern French town of Aulnoye-Aymeries. They beat him with metal bars, kicked him, and threw him to the ground.
Baudoux sustained bruises, but his injuries did not require hospitalization. The assailants also vandalized and smashed a window on a Belgian consulate vehicle before the convoy was able to withdraw.
The delegation included Belgium's consul general to the Palestinians, French consular representatives, Polish diplomats, and Catholic Church officials. The Polish Foreign Ministry confirmed that its diplomats were unharmed.
Baudoux had traveled to Taybeh with a French parish priest to sign a town-twinning agreement. He joined the harvest as a show of solidarity.
Taybeh priest Father Bashar Fawadleh said settlers had earlier attacked residents, stolen olives, injured an older woman, and wounded another Palestinian in the head. The Israeli military stated that no troops were present during the confrontation.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot condemned the assault and urged Israeli authorities to halt criminal violence under international law. Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said diplomatic duties and harvesting olives should never place people at risk of physical harm.
Prevot said Israel must protect civilians, safeguard diplomats, and end settler impunity. Palestinian Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh condemned the assault, calling it an example of daily terrorism inflicted on Palestinian residents.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar strongly condemned the violence by rioters. Saar noted that the diplomatic mission had failed to coordinate the visit with the military in advance.
The Israeli prime minister's office called violence against diplomats unacceptable, but claimed the incident was being used to smear Israel. The office also noted the lack of military coordination and Baudoux's political support for Palestinians.
The confrontation followed an attack a day earlier where settlers fractured the vertebrae of American photojournalist Heidi Levine. Health officials reported that settler violence had killed at least four Palestinians and injured over 100 since the harvest began.
The attack also took place shortly before Israel's parliamentary elections in late October 2026. Settler policy remains a central subject of political debate.
The Israel Police opened an investigation to identify and prosecute the assailants. Belgium stated that it will push European Union member states to approve targeted sanctions against violent settlers and their supporters.
