The foreign ministry on Sunday evening said it “strongly condemns” what it described as “the latest settler attacks in the occupied West Bank against diplomats from Belgium, France, and Poland, Catholic representatives, and a French mayor”.
“We take note of the ongoing investigation by the French authorities and join the calls for those responsible to be swiftly held to account,” it said.
It added that the reported attack and similar incidents “reflect the alarming scale of settler violence against Palestinians”, before stressing that “such unacceptable acts undermine the prospects for lasting peace and stability”.
“International law must be fully upheld. Cyprus reaffirms its support for the two-state solution, in line with the relevant United Nations resolutions,” it said.
The incident occurred in the largely Christian village of Taybeh, near the Palestinian town of Ramallah, with the BBC reporting that the diplomats were “there to assess the situation on the ground after almost near daily attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians trying to bring in their olive harvest”.
It reported that the convoy of diplomats was confronted by “marked men”, while other reports have suggested that stones were thrown at it.
Car had window smashed, French mayor was ‘thrown to ground’
According to the Belgian government, a car from its consulate had a window smashed, and a French mayor, named as Bernard Badoux of the town of Aulnoye-Aymeries, in France’s far north, near Valenciennes and the Belgian city of Mons, was “assaulted”.
British newspaper the Guardian, meanwhile, reported that Badoux was “knocked to the ground” by a “masked militant” who shouted “Vive la France!” as he attacked the mayor, while also reporting that some of the assailants were “armed with clubs”.
It said that the assailants were Israelis who were attempting to settle on Palestinian land, as has become commonplace in recent decades, and that they “first attacked a group working on the lower slopes of hills near Taybeh”.
“As well as stealing olives, they kicked, abused, and assaulted a Palestinian woman in her 70s and beat a man so badly he needed six stitches for a head injury,” it said.
Belgian FM says country will ‘continue to press for EU sanctions’
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said of the incident that he wished to “condemn [it] in the strongest terms”.
“Palestinians face this violence every day. Settlers also target journalists reporting on it and diplomats. Harvesting olives, reporting the news, or carrying out diplomatic duties should never put anyone at risk of attack,” he said.
He added that “as the occupying power, Israeli authorities must protect Palestinians, ensure the safety of diplomats and journalists, and bring those responsible to justice”, before adding that “impunity for violent settlers must end”.
“Belgium will continue to press for EU sanctions against those responsible for this violence and those who support them. This violence cannot be separated from Israel’s illegal settlement policy. Belgium condemns settlement expansion and attempts to forcibly displace Palestinians from their land,” he said.
“The occupation of the Palestinian territory must end,” he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waved away accusations of violence levelled at Israeli settlers during his speech to the United Nations general assembly last month, saying that this “settler violence” only produces “two or three” casualties per year.
“Maybe two or three killed in all the time this has been discussed, compared with the thousands of terrorist attacks against peaceful settlers – honourable, law-abiding people. What a distortion,” he said.