Taybeh settler attack on diplomats leaves French m...

Summary

• Israeli settlers beat a visiting French mayor on Saturday in a Taybeh settler attack that also hit a convoy of European diplomats in the West Bank.
• Reaction to the Taybeh settler attackFrench Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot called the attack “appalling” and said Israel must arrest those responsible.
• After the Taybeh settler attack, European diplomats now face open questions about how safely they can visit Palestinian farmers during the harvest.

AI Generated Summary

Israeli settlers beat a visiting French mayor on Saturday in a Taybeh settler attack that also hit a convoy of European diplomats in the West Bank.

Witnesses and diplomats said masked settlers kicked 78-year-old Bernard Baudoux and hit him with iron bars. Afterwards he sat collapsed beside a car, though he did not need hospital care.

Baudoux leads the northern French town of Aulnoye-Aymeries. He had joined Palestinian olive farmers alongside the top French and Belgian envoys in Jerusalem and Polish diplomats.

What happened in Taybeh

The diplomats had gone to Taybeh, a mostly Christian village, after a ceremony that marked a twinning pact between the village and a French town. Settlers arrived as Palestinians gathered olives.

Taybeh’s mayor, Suleiman Khourieh, said several Palestinian residents suffered injuries and a Belgian mission vehicle took damage. He called the assault a violation of the sanctity of diplomatic work.