French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot demanded Saturday that Israel crack down on “criminal violence” after a French mayor was attacked by Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
Bernard Baudoux, mayor of the northern French town of Aulnoye-Aymeries, “was violently assaulted by extremist settlers”, Barrot said on X.
“The Israeli authorities must arrest those responsible for these revolting acts and take them to justice. They must urgently halt this criminal violence and guarantee the safety of civilian populations, as they are compelled to do under international law.”
Baudoux, 78, was attacked while visiting the Palestinian village of Taybeh with French, Belgian and Polish diplomats, who were there as Israeli settlers tried to stop Palestinians from harvesting their olives.
Masked settlers threw him to the ground, kicked him and beat him with iron bars, Baudoux said.