A police investigation is underway after European diplomats said they were assaulted by Israeli settlers while visiting the occupied West Bank on Saturday, authorities said. Meanwhile, the prime minister's office urged caution before "drawing conclusions," and the reports come "amid concerns about a coordinated campaign to smear Israel." Israeli police said they launched the investigation following footage circulating online, which appears to show several diplomats being attacked near the village of Taybeh. The statement said efforts were underway to locate the victims and identify the suspects "with the aim of bringing them to justice." "The Israel Police condemns violence of any kind and will pursue these investigations to their full extent, ensuring that everyone involved in such incidents is brought to justice," the statement said.
Israel's military condemned the "severe act of violence" during which diplomatic representatives were "attacked by Israeli rioters." It said the diplomats' visit had not been coordinated with them and that no soldiers were at the scene. Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported that the diplomats included representatives from France, Belgium and Poland. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office condemned the reports of the attacks on the diplomats and urged caution against drawing conclusions, as it tried to cast doubt over the circumstances surrounding the attack.
"Any violence against diplomats is unacceptable," a statement said Saturday. "The more serious the accusation, the greater the demand for compelling evidence." The prime minister's office said the diplomatic delegation "entered a sensitive area with a history of confrontations" without prior coordination with the Israeli military. It said such coordination is "essential to protecting visiting diplomats and preventing violence." In the statement, the prime minister's office said the footage circulating online shows masked individuals confronting a diplomatic vehicle.
He said images alone do not establish the "complete sequence of events or individual responsibility." "These reports come amid concerns about a coordinated campaign to smear Israel and the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria during the annual olive harvest, relying on sensational headlines before the full facts emerge," the prime minister's office said. "We may see further allegations in the coming days. By the time the evidence is fully examined, the reputational damage from premature conclusions may already be done." Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot claimed on social media that Israeli settlers targeted Belgium's consul general, French and Polish diplomats and Catholic representatives.
CBS News has reached out to Belgium's consul general in Jerusalem and to Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "A French mayor was assaulted and a Belgian vehicle damaged. Our team is safe," Prevot wrote on X.
He linked the attack to what he called Israel's "illegal settlement policy" and called on Israeli authorities to protect Palestinians as the "occupying power." "Harvesting olives, reporting the news or carrying out diplomatic duties should never put anyone at risk of attack," he said. Bernard Baudoux, mayor of the northern French town of Aulnoye-Aymeries, told the that he was attacked during a goodwill visit to Taybeh. "The whole world needs to know what's happening there," he said.
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