Anger was growing on Sunday at Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank after European diplomats and an American journalist were caught up in the unrest.
Visitors from France, Belgium and Poland were among those targeted by masked settlers near the village of Taybeh on Saturday. It came a day after Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine suffered serious injuries when she was attacked by Israeli settlers.
The EU on Sunday demanded “effective measures” from Israel to stop the unrest. Poland said the attack in Taybeh, a Christian village, was evidence of what Palestinians in the West Bank face on a daily basis.
“The attack should be met with a firm response from the Israeli authorities,” the Polish Foreign Ministry said.
US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee demanded arrests and the prosecution of those responsible after the attack on the journalist. “Attacking a female photographer is a despicable act of terror carried out by masked cowards,” Mr Huckabee said in a post on X early on Sunday. “Dishonourable act of senseless violence.”
The US envoy said Ms Levine had been clearly identified as a journalist and was unarmed. He called for those involved to spend years in prison and demanded prosecution “to the fullest extent of the law”.
The Washington Post said Ms Levine was attacked when “dozens of masked settlers” set fire to shrubs and threw rocks in a “co-ordinated assault” on Palestinian olive harvesters.
“She was knocked to the ground, kicked repeatedly and stripped of her cameras and phone,” the paper said.
Ms Levine was later taken to hospital in Ramallah. Photos showed her lying on a trolley with a wound dressing on the left leg and a gash on her right knee, among other injuries.
On Sunday, the Post welcomed the support of the US ambassador.
“We appreciate the support we’ve gotten today for our photographer, Heidi Levine, after the brutal and unwarranted attack on her. We reiterate the call for action from the government. Press freedoms are a cornerstone for democracies,” editor Matt Murray wrote on X.
The attack comes amid renewed international concern over Israeli settler violence in the West Bank, after European diplomats and a French mayor were assaulted by masked people in a separate incident on Saturday.
Belgium criticised the attack on its consul general and the other diplomats and urged Israel to bring those responsible to justice.
Poland’s Foreign Ministry said preliminary evidence indicated Israeli settlers were responsible for the assault. Polish diplomats travelling in the convoy were unharmed, the ministry said.
“We expect the Israeli authorities to provide urgent and detailed explanations, identify those responsible and ensure that they are held accountable,” it added. “We also expect effective measures to be taken to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the mayor of a French town had also been assaulted by what he described as “extremist settlers” during Saturday’s incident. He called on Israeli authorities to stop the violence.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog called Ms Levine to apologise for the attack and urged an investigation. The Israeli military described the violence as intolerable and said the incidents would be investigated.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the circumstances remained unclear and more evidence was needed before responsibility could be established. It also noted that the diplomats’ visit had not been co-ordinated with Israeli security officials.
Britain, France, Canada and other countries announced sanctions focused on Israeli settlements last month, while the US said it would not join those measures.
