A delegation comprising European diplomats, French clergy, and a visiting French mayor were attacked by masked Israeli militants while participating in an olive harvest with Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. The attack occurred after the group received a warning about settlers attacking nearby Palestinians and decided to leave the area. Video footage documented the assault, showing the masked attackers brandishing sticks and forcing the mayor, Bernard Baudoux of Aulnoye-Aymeries, to the ground. During the attack, one assailant shouted “France, France” before striking Baudoux. The militants continued their assault as the diplomatic vehicles attempted to leave, with their blows striking and breaking a reinforced window of one vehicle.
In response to the incident, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a statement questioning the credibility of the account rather than committing to an investigation or holding perpetrators accountable. The statement dismissed video evidence and photographs as insufficient to establish responsibility, and cast doubt on the integrity of the European diplomats and Catholic clergy who witnessed the attack. Netanyahu’s team characterized coverage of the incident as part of a “coordinated campaign to smear Israel” and called for “verifiable evidence” while warning against what it termed “unproven allegations.”
The Guardian, which was present at the scene, documented the attack through video and photography. Metadata from the footage showed approximately 22 seconds elapsed between when Baudoux was last seen confronting his attackers and when he appeared injured on the ground. The force of the assault was evident from photographs showing a damaged reinforced vehicle window that had been intact moments earlier in earlier video footage.
The incident prompted an unprecedented response from Israeli officials. More than a dozen former senior Israeli diplomats, including two former directors general of the foreign ministry, gathered outside the foreign ministry building to protest what they characterized as a campaign of terror by Israelis against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. The former diplomats held signs calling for action against what they termed “Jewish Terrorism.”
This incident followed a separate attack on American photojournalist Heidi Levine earlier in the week, which Netanyahu’s office had similarly described as “alleged” and “disputed,” stating that facts remained unclear. The pattern of official responses downplaying such incidents has been documented in cases involving both Palestinians and international observers in the occupied West Bank.
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