West Bank: EU demands consequences after attack on diplomatic convoy

The European Union has condemned "in the strongest possible terms" the attack by radical settlers on European diplomats in the West Bank. A spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called on the Israeli government to hold those responsible for the crime accountable and to take steps to prevent settlers from committing violent acts against Palestinians and journalists.

A group of settlers attacked a convoy of vehicles from the French, Belgian and Polish missions in the occupied West Bank on Saturday. According to the occupants of the vehicles, a French mayor was also hit.

Netanyahu speaks of “smear campaign”

While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of a "smear campaign" against Israeli settlers, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar took a rare step in criticizing the attack by "Israeli rioters."

Kallas' spokesman said Brussels had taken positive note of the statements made by several Israeli representatives condemning the attacks. The EU now expects "effective steps to prevent acts of violence and harassment against Palestinians, especially during the olive harvest, as well as against journalists." In recent days, photographers from the international news agencies Reuters and AFP have been injured by settlers while on operations in the West Bank.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since the Six-Day War in 1967. Around three million Palestinians and more than 500,000 Israeli settlers live there, whose settlements are illegal under international law. Under Netanyahu, Israel has pushed ahead with settlement construction in the West Bank. Since the major attack on Israel by the extremist Palestinian organization Hamas on October 7, 2023, the situation in the West Bank has become significantly worse.