The aggression against a European delegation in the West Bank escalates the attacks by Israeli settlers

JerusalemNeither the presence of European diplomats nor a press vest has prevented Israeli settlers from acting with violence again in the West Bank. This Saturday, a group of settlers attacked a European diplomatic delegation in Taybeh, a Christian-majority Palestinian town located east of Ramallah in the West Bank, a territory considered occupied since 1967 by the international community.

The assault comes the day after several masked settlers beat up Heidi Levine, a photojournalist for the American media outlet The Washington Post, while she was covering attacks against Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest. Two incidents in less than 48 hours that highlight the extent of the violence in an occupied territory where human rights organizations denounce the impunity of the aggressors.

According to the Belgian Foreign Minister, Hadja Lahbib (or the relevant official), among those affected by the attack in Taybeh this Saturday were the Belgian Consul General, French and Polish diplomats, and representatives of the Catholic Church. The aggressors struck French mayor Bernard Baudoux and broke a window of a Belgian consular vehicle. The Belgian authorities have condemned the events and linked the violence to the Israeli policy of settlement expansion. Furthermore, they have demanded an end to the impunity of violent settlers. The Israeli police have opened an investigation, while the army has described the incident as a serious act of violence and stated that there were no soldiers at the scene of the events.

The attack occurs in a town that had already reported other episodes of violence and pressure on its population. The rector of Taybeh, Bashar Fawadleh, has repeatedly warned of the aggressions against the inhabitants and the threats looming over the Palestinian communities in the area. That this time those attacked were also European diplomatic representatives adds an international dimension to a situation that affects the Palestinian population daily.

According to the report by the rector of Taybeh, the settlers confronted the members of the delegation and attacked their vehicles. Among the participants in the visit were European diplomatic representatives, in an initiative that aimed to show solidarity with the Palestinian Christian community. The incident has triggered diplomatic condemnations and has once again highlighted to what extent settler violence has spread beyond attacks against the inhabitants of Palestinian communities.

A day earlier, in the town of Abu Falah, near Ramallah, a group of masked settlers attacked Palestinian farmers harvesting olives and the journalists who were documenting the aggression. They threw Heidi Levine to the ground and beat her repeatedly. The photojournalist, who has a long career covering conflicts in the Middle East, suffered serious injuries, including vertebral fractures and a broken rib, and had to be hospitalized. The attackers also took her professional equipment and personal belongings, according to reports published about the events.

Levine's case is not isolated. Palestinian and international journalists covering settler violence are exposed to threats, assaults, and movement restrictions. Attacking reporters not only endangers their physical integrity, but also hinders the independent documentation of events on the ground.

Attacks against a source of income

The coincidence of the attacks with the start of the olive harvest is not anecdotal either. This activity represents an essential source of income for thousands of Palestinian families and has a strong social and cultural value. Every autumn, however, access to the fields becomes a focus of tension in numerous areas of the West Bank. Farmers report physical assaults, destruction of trees, burning of vehicles, theft of crops, and difficulties in reaching their land. According to the Israeli human rights organization Yesh Din, since September 27, at least 170 settler attacks have been recorded, in parallel with the start of the harvesting season.

Human rights organizations have been reporting for years that investigations into crimes committed by settlers against Palestinians rarely end in convictions. The Israeli entity Yesh Din has documented the difficulties that Palestinian victims face in getting their complaints to prosper. The lack of effective consequences, they warn, fuels a climate of impunity.