Jerusalem (AFP) – Israeli settlers attacked a convoy of European diplomats in the West Bank and beat up a visiting French mayor on Saturday, witnesses said, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned against a brewing “crisis” in the territory a day after an American photojournalist was injured in a brutal attack.
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On Saturday, the 78-year-old mayor said masked settlers yelled defamatory comments about France and kicked and hit him with iron bars as he joined Palestinian olive farmers in the West Bank alongside top French and Belgian representatives in Jerusalem and Polish diplomats.
“I think that if settlers are behaving like this, there is a tolerance on the part of the Israeli government,” Bernard Baudoux, mayor of the northern French town of Aulnoye-Aymeries, told AFP after he was attacked.
“The whole world needs to know what’s happening,” he said.
“For me, I’ll go back to my country and everything will be fine. Those who continue to suffer the most are those who are here.”
Baudoux, who was wearing a sash with the French tricolour, was seen collapsed on the side of the car after the attack but he did not need hospital care.
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Baudoux, the mayor, said he had come to the town of Taybeh, a Christian stronghold, along with his local pastor from France to sign a goodwill agreement.
He was attacked as he joined the harvest as a symbolic gesture with Palestinians, for whom olives are an important cultural symbol.
Rubio also acknowledged the season, and added “there are other instances we’ve heard complaints about.”
Extremist Israelis have issued calls to stop the Palestinians’ annual harvest after months of attacks in which settlers have stolen land and property. There has also been violence against Israelis, with a Palestinian fatally shooting a settler last month.
Bashar Fawadleh, a priest in Taybeh, said settlers also attacked the harvest and snatched olives before beating the mayor.
“One person was hit in the head and needed stitches. They also beat up an older lady in her 70s after insulting her,” the pastor told AFP.
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Israel BETTER be Careful! Soon they might MURDER a Politician and THEN what? They’ll only get BILLIONS of Dollars from the Country he was From instead of BILLIONS of Dollars from the Country he was From!