Israeli settler militants have attacked European diplomats, a French mayor and the archbishop of Cambrai in Taybeh, in the occupied West Bank, injuring three people and damaging a car, in the latest violent attempt to prevent Palestinians from harvesting olives on their own land. Bernard Baudoux, mayor of Aulnoye-Aymeries, was wearing his red, white and blue sash of office and attempting to enter a vehicle with diplomatic plates when he was assaulted and knocked to the ground on Saturday. The masked militant shouted “Vive la France” as he launched the attack, a witness said.
Badoux’s wife, and Vincent Dollmann, archbishop of Cambrai, were also threatened by the group of seven men, some armed with clubs. The group had joined the olive harvest on lands belonging to the Christian town of Taybeh, along with the French consul general in Jerusalem, his wife and other diplomats, and the Belgian and Polish consuls. Settlers first attacked a group working on the lower slopes of hills near Taybeh.
As well as stealing olives, they kicked, abused and assaulted a Palestinian woman in her seventies and beat a man so badly he needed six stitches for a head injury. Then they approached the diplomats and Badoux, who was in Taybeh for the launch of a twinning agreement with his town in northern France. During the attack, the militants smashed the window of an armoured car belonging to the Belgian mission.
Maxime Prévot, Belgium’s deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, condemned the violence against Palestinians, foreign diplomats and journalists, and said his country would continue to push for European Union sanctions on settlers. It represents a deeply disturbing escalation in settler violence,” Fawadleh said. Since the start of the annual olive harvest in late September, Israeli militants have used violence to stop Palestinians bringing in a crop that is economically and culturally vital to their communities.
Since 27 September, settlers have launched more than 170 attacks, Israeli rights group Yesh Din said. They killed at least four people, injured more than 100 and damaged thousands of trees, according to Palestinian authorities. Even the presence of Israeli activists, diplomats, senior clergy and journalists no longer serves as a deterrence to extreme violence.
She required surgery on Saturday morning and is now in “moderate” condition, according to a spokesperson for Israel’s Beilinson hospital where she is being treated. Israel had already severely restricted the harvest this year by imposing new rules barring Palestinians from trees located in Area C, an area under the Israeli military’s control, which comprises most of the West Bank’s agricultural land. Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, condemned the attacks and said police had opened an investigation.
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