The Prime Minister's Office on Saturday night responded to the alleged attack on European diplomats, warning that "serious accusations require serious evidence."
"We urge caution before drawing conclusions from today's reports that European diplomats were attacked by masked Israelis in Judea and Samaria," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement. "Any violence against diplomats is unacceptable. The more serious the accusation, the greater the demand for compelling evidence."
"Here is what we know," the statement added. "The diplomatic delegation entered a sensitive area with a history of confrontations without prior coordination with the IDF, as officially confirmed by the military. Such coordination is essential to protecting visiting diplomats and preventing violence."
Secondly, "The visit included Bernard Baudoux, a French Communist Party mayor who previously raised the Palestinian flag over his municipal building, prompting French authorities to order its removal."
The statement noted, "Published footage shows masked individuals confronting a diplomatic vehicle. Separate images show a smashed window and a person lying on the ground. These images alone do not establish the complete sequence of events or individual responsibility. Those circumstances remain under investigation."
"Israeli police and forensic investigators have launched an investigation to establish the facts and identify those responsible.
"These reports come amid concerns about a coordinated campaign to smear Israel and the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria during the annual olive harvest, relying on sensational headlines before the full facts emerge.
"We may see further allegations in the coming days. By the time the evidence is fully examined, the reputational damage from premature conclusions may already be done.
"We call on the public and responsible journalists to demand verifiable evidence, reject hearsay, and refuse to turn unproven allegations into a collective indictment of the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria."
Yisrael Ganz, Governor of the Binyamin Regional Council and Chairman of the Yesha Council, added, "In the past two days, groups of provocateurs and terrorists have been creating chaos under the pretext of the olive harvest. They arrive at known friction points to inflame tensions and provoke confrontations. In many cases, they are the actual aggressors, rioting and attacking Israelis. They must not be allowed to continue operating unchecked."
"At the same time, Israelis who resort to violence are playing into their hands and causing harm to innocent people, to the communities of Judea and Samaria, and to the State of Israel.
"I call on the police to take responsibility and restore order. A police force that knows how to combat organized crime must also stop stone-throwers and the organizers of premeditated disturbances at known flashpoints, whether they are Israeli, Arab, or foreigners, rather than settling for condemnations and announcing that an investigation has been opened after the incident has already ended."