Cyprus condemns reported settler attack on diplomats and Catholic representatives in West Bank

Taybeh, Palestine. Cyprus’s foreign ministry issued a strong condemnation on Sunday evening of what it described as the latest attack by settlers in the occupied West Bank, targeting Belgian, French and Polish diplomats, Catholic representatives and a mayor from France.

Ministry calls for accountability

The ministry acknowledged that French authorities were investigating and backed calls for those responsible to be held accountable swiftly.

It said the reported assault, alongside comparable incidents, demonstrated the alarming extent of settler violence directed at Palestinians and undermined the chances of enduring peace and stability.

The ministry also called for full respect for international law and reiterated Cyprus’s backing for a two-state solution consistent with the relevant United Nations resolutions.

Diplomatic visit to Taybeh

The incident took place in Taybeh, a predominantly Christian village close to the Palestinian town of Ramallah.

According to the BBC, the diplomats had travelled there to evaluate conditions following almost daily attacks by Israeli settlers targeting Palestinians gathering their olive crop. The broadcaster said their convoy encountered “marked men”. Separate reports suggested that stones were hurled at the vehicles.

The Belgian government said a vehicle belonging to its consulate had one of its windows broken and that French mayor Bernard Badoux had been assaulted. Badoux is mayor of Aulnoye-Aymeries in the far north of France, close to Valenciennes and the Belgian city of Mons.

Reports of assaults on Palestinians and mayor

The Guardian reported that a masked militant knocked Badoux down while shouting “Vive la France!” It also said some attackers carried clubs.

The newspaper identified the assailants as Israelis seeking to establish themselves on Palestinian land, a practice it described as increasingly commonplace over recent decades. It reported that they initially targeted a group working on lower hillside slopes near Taybeh.

According to the Guardian, the attackers stole olives and kicked, verbally abused and assaulted a Palestinian woman in her 70s. The newspaper also reported that a man suffered a beating that left him requiring six stitches for an injury to his head.