French Mayor Bernard Baudoux Beaten by Israeli Settlers During West Bank Olive Harvest

Masked Israeli settlers assaulted a convoy of European diplomats on Saturday, beating Bernard Baudoux, the 78-year-old mayor of Aulnoye-Aymeries in northern France, as he accompanied Palestinian olive farmers in the West Bank. Baudoux reported that his attackers shouted defamatory remarks about France, kicked him, and struck him with iron bars. The mayor had joined the delegation alongside Poland's diplomats and the senior French and Belgian representatives stationed in Jerusalem. Speaking after the incident, Baudoux said the settlers' conduct suggested a degree of tolerance from the Israeli government, and he urged that the world be informed of what is taking place. He noted that he would return home unharmed while those living in the territory continue to bear the heaviest suffering. Witnesses and diplomats described the assault as a fresh escalation of violence tied to the Palestinian olive harvest.