Netanyahu’s office questions a settler attack his own army has already condemned
The IDF called the assault on European diplomats near Taybeh “severe” and opened an investigation. Hours later the Prime Minister’s Office called it an “alleged attack” with no “compelling evidence” and raised the possibility of a “coordinated campaign to smear Israel.”
On Saturday 17 October, masked Israeli settlers attacked a European diplomatic delegation visiting Palestinian olive harvesters near Taybeh, a largely Christian village near Ramallah. Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot said those targeted included Belgium’s consul general, French and Polish diplomats and Catholic representatives, and that a Belgian vehicle was damaged: “A French mayor was assaulted and a Belgian vehicle damaged. Our team is safe.” He added that “impunity for violent settlers must end,” linking the attack to Israel’s “illegal settlement policy” and pledging to press for further EU sanctions. Bernard Baudoux, the French mayor, wrote on Facebook that “three vehicles arrived. Several masked individuals, armed with metal bars, got out and came toward us with extreme aggressiveness.” Testimonies carried by Times of Israel describe seven masked settlers surrounding the diplomatic car and demanding identification before attacking it; footage shows a smashed window. AP, the BBC, Al Jazeera, Haaretz and Times of Israel all carried it.
The Israeli response split three ways in a single evening. The IDF condemned “the severe act of violence that took place in the area of Taybeh” and said it was investigating; Israel Police opened an investigation. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said he “strongly condemn[ed] the severe acts of violence by Israeli rioters in the area of Taybeh,” while also criticising the delegation for not coordinating with the IDF. The Prime Minister’s Office went further in the other direction, calling it an “alleged attack,” urging “caution before drawing conclusions,” and listing as context that the diplomats “entered a sensitive area with a history of confrontations without prior coordination with the IDF” and that the group included Baudoux, “a vocal advocate for Palestinians.” Times of Israel wrote in its own voice that the PMO statement “appears to contradict the military’s comment.” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on X that Baudoux was “violently assaulted by extremist settlers.”
Two further items frame the week. On Friday 16 October, settlers assaulted and seriously injured Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine during olive-harvest violence in a separate West Bank village, where olive trees were burned; per Times of Israel, Netanyahu cast doubt on the specifics of that attack as well, making Taybeh the second consecutive documented assault the PMO has disputed. Also on 16 October, ToI’s liveblog reported that Israel’s ambassador said the prime minister had promised “emphatically” to curb settler violence — a line now in open tension with the PMO’s own statement twenty-four hours later. Late Saturday Israel time, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was “very disturbed” by scenes of settler violence and urged an Israeli crackdown, per Reuters and ToI. The Palestinian Health Ministry, a party to the conflict, says at least four people have been killed and more than 100 injured since the harvest began in early October.
Assessment: The PMO is not litigating the facts; it is choosing an audience. Nine days before the vote, with senior ministers themselves settlers, conceding that masked Israelis beat a French mayor wearing a tricolour sash costs more inside the coalition than a credibility hit abroad costs outside it. Two cautions. The casualty figures are a Palestinian Authority ministry’s and remain unverified. And ToI’s 18 October liveblog carries a second-hand report that the IDF received distress calls about armed settlers and responded hours later — the originating outlet is unidentified and it is not established. If it holds, the argument moves from stray youths to operational non-response.