Israeli settlers attack farmers, journalist and European diplomats in West Bank

The attacks took place during the annual Palestinian olive harvest in the occupied West Bank. The harvest is both a cultural touchstone and an economic lifeline, according to The New York Times.

On Friday, October 16, villagers from Abu Falah had gathered to pick olives when about 80 settlers descended from a hill above the grove, some carrying gas canisters, NDTV reported.

On October 16, dozens of masked settlers attacked Palestinians and set fire to cars and olive trees, the BBC reported. Witness accounts and video footage described an assault on people taking part in the harvest, according to CBC.

American photojournalist Heidi Levine was thrown to the ground and beaten while covering the attack near Abu Falah, Il Post reported. She was hospitalized, according to CNN. The Red Crescent separately said a 63-year-old woman and a 40-year-old man were taken to hospital after being beaten by settlers, Express & Star reported.

The Foreign Press Association urged the Israeli government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to act following the assault on Levine, according to Infobae.

On Saturday, October 17, the violence reached a visiting European delegation. Cars from the French, Belgian and Polish missions had brought diplomats to Taybeh, a largely Christian village, when settlers arrived to stop Palestinians gathering olives, NDTV reported. Settlers attacked the convoy and beat a visiting French mayor, witnesses and diplomats told the South China Morning Post.

Belgium has condemned the attack on its consul general and other envoys and called on Israel to bring those responsible to account, the BBC reported. Its foreign minister also pledged to press for European Union sanctions against those responsible, according to the Financial Times.

Israeli police said footage circulating online appeared to show several diplomats being attacked near Taybeh, according to CBS. The supplied reports do not establish whether anyone has been arrested or charged over either day's attacks.

The immediate questions are whether Israeli authorities identify and prosecute those responsible, and whether Belgium's call produces European Union sanctions. Belgium's foreign minister has pledged to push for further sanctions, Euronews reported, but the coverage does not report an agreed European Union response.