US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Riley Barnes and US Ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch, visit the Christian Palestinian village of Taybeh near Ramallah, a day after Israeli militant settlers attacked a French mayor and European diplomats during olive harvest, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
US diplomats visited the Christian Palestinian town of Taybeh in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Sunday after masked Israeli settlers attacked European diplomats and a French mayor near the village a day earlier.
The visit came amid a surge in settler violence across the territory, with a US photojournalist also hospitalised after being assaulted while covering an olive harvest.Riley Barnes, assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labour, and Brian Burch, US ambassador to the Holy See, visited the Latin Convent church in Taybeh. They were also expected to meet members of the local Christian community.The visit followed Saturday's attack on Belgian, French and Polish diplomats, a French mayor and Palestinian civilians near Taybeh. On Friday, Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine was taken to hospital after being assaulted while covering a Palestinian olive harvest near another West Bank village.Despite the incidents, Israeli authorities had not announced any arrests by Sunday.
Netanyahu cautious on settler violence
Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar and the Israeli military (IDF) blamed "Israeli rioters" for Saturday's attack on the diplomats.
However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the diplomats had entered a "sensitive area with a history of confrontations without prior coordination with the IDF".He also said the facts of the attack on Levine were "unclear".France urged Israeli authorities to arrest those responsible for Saturday's attack and end criminal violence in the West Bank.The US diplomats' visit also coincided with US President Donald Trump endorsing Netanyahu, his ally, for Israel's parliamentary election on October 27.Trump has opposed settlement expansion this year. However, his administration has put little pressure on Netanyahu's right-wing, pro-settler government to change its policy.
Settler attacks surge across West Bank
Violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians has been rising, with at least 170 attacks recorded since September 27, according to Israeli human rights group Yesh Din. Journalists, activists and foreign observers have also been targeted.
Prosecutions of Israeli settlers remain rare.On Sunday, Reuters saw at least 10 masked settlers dressed in black throwing rocks at Palestinians and activists harvesting olives near the Palestinian town of Salfit in the West Bank. The farmers fled the area. Israeli border police were present and fired tear gas towards the hills.The West Bank is home to around 500,000 Israeli settlers and at least three million Palestinians.The United Nations and most countries consider Israeli settlements in the territory illegal under international law. Israel rejects this position, arguing that the territory is disputed rather than occupied.