Netanyahu Says No 'Compelling Evidence' Settlers Attacked European Diplomats

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that he had not seen "compelling evidence" that settlers attacked a convoy of European diplomats in the West Bank earlier in the week, even as the IDF itself had already condemned the incident, The Times of Israel reported.

The attack, near the West Bank village of Taybeh, saw masked assailants smash the windows of vehicles carrying French, Belgian and Polish officials who were touring the area during the olive harvest. The military described the attackers as "Israeli rioters" and said it regretted that the diplomatic delegation had not coordinated its visit with security forces in advance, a detail Netanyahu also stressed, noting the diplomats had "entered a sensitive area" without prior notice.

Netanyahu went further, suggesting the episode could be part of what he called a "coordinated smear campaign" against Israel, a characterization that put him at odds with his own foreign minister, Gideon Sa'ar, who separately condemned the violence as "severe." Opposition figures were far blunter: former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot accused the government of allowing "Jewish terror under the auspices of the government."

The incident has already drawn a diplomatic response from Europe, with Belgium's foreign minister saying he would push for EU sanctions against those responsible, while France and Poland have demanded a full investigation. It lands in the middle of the West Bank's olive harvest season, a period that typically sees a spike in settler-related violence, and just over a week before Israel's October 27 election.