Masked Israeli settlers attacked a delegation of European diplomats, a French mayor and local Palestinians in Taybeh, a largely Christian village near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, on Saturday. Bernard Baudoux, mayor of Aulnoye-Aymeries in northern France, was knocked to the ground while wearing his tricolour sash of office. A window of an armoured Belgian consular vehicle was smashed. Belgian officials said the diplomats were unharmed.

The delegation included the Belgian consul general, the French consul general in Jerusalem and his wife, the Polish consul, and the Catholic archbishop of Cambrai, Vincent Dollmann. They had joined the olive harvest as what Belgium's foreign ministry called symbolic support for local residents. Baudoux was in Taybeh to launch a twinning agreement with his town. According to the accounts, about seven men, some armed with clubs, confronted the group, and stones were reportedly thrown. Earlier, settlers had reportedly beaten a Palestinian woman in her 70s and a man who needed six stitches for a head wound. Baudoux told AFP he was kicked and beaten with iron bars. He said the attackers "arrived completely enraged".

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot condemned the attack and said Belgium would keep pressing for European Union sanctions on those responsible and on their supporters. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar condemned what he called "Israeli rioters" but noted the visit had not been coordinated with the Israeli military, which he said could have helped protect the visitors. The military also condemned the violence and said no soldiers were present. A Western diplomatic source told The Guardian that requiring advance notice of diplomatic travel breaches diplomatic conventions and international law, and that Israel is responsible for security in Areas B and C. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office urged caution about social media images and spoke of a "coordinated campaign to smear Israel", while saying police had opened an investigation.

The attack follows Friday's assault in Abu Falah, where Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine was badly injured; US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington wants Israel to do more to deter settler attacks. Taybeh's parish priest, Father Bashar Fawadleh, said settlers had never before targeted foreign diplomats there and called it a deeply disturbing escalation. Israeli rights group Yesh Din has counted more than 170 settler attacks since 27 September, and Palestinian authorities say at least four people have been killed and more than 100 injured. Israeli opposition politician Gadi Eisenkot described the attack as "Jewish terror under the auspices of the Israeli government". Israeli groups Kerem Navot and Peace Now say settlers are trying to create facts on the ground before Israeli elections.

Why this matters: the olive harvest is economically and culturally vital for many Palestinian families. Violence directed at foreign officials, rather than only at Palestinians, is likely to increase diplomatic pressure on Israel over its handling of settler violence in the territory it has occupied since 1967.