US diplomats have visited the Christian town of Taybeh in the West Bank following attacks by Israeli settlers on European diplomats and an American photojournalist in recent days.
Riley Barnes, assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labour, and Brian Burch, US ambassador to the Holy See, were among the delegates to visit the Latin Convent church and members of the Christian community on Sunday.
Belgian, French and Polish diplomats, along with a French mayor and Palestinian civilians, had been attacked by masked settlers near the town on Saturday. The previous day, Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine was taken to hospital after being assaulted while covering a Palestinian olive harvest near another West Bank village.
Parish priest Fr Bashar Fawadleh, in a letter published by Catholic aid agency CAFOD, said vandalism of olive groves was "reducing a harvest that is essential for the livelihood of our community". He has previously warned of violent incidents in the area, including homes being targeted. The fifth-century Church of St George was set alight in an arson attack last July.
Taybeh is widely understood to be the biblical town of Ephraim, where Jesus went on retreat after the resurrection of Lazarus.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, an ordained evangelical Christian pastor, posted on X that "those who attacked" the American journalist should be jailed.
Ten people have been arrested in connection with the incidents, according to Israel’s Army Radio, on suspicion of involvement with acts of violence, illegal construction and violating a closed military zone.
The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) condemned what it called “the severe act of violence”. Benjamin Netanyahu said the European diplomats entered a "sensitive area with a history of confrontations without prior coordination" with the Israeli military, and that the facts of the attack on Levine are "unclear".
UN bodies and many countries around the world deem the settlements illegal under international law, but Israel views the territory as disputed rather than occupied.
Israeli human rights organisation Yesh Din has recorded 269 incidents of violence related to olive harvests in the past 20 days.
Paul Calvert, a Christian journalist based in Bethlehem, told Premier Christian News that the attacks come at one of the most vital times of the year for residents because of the harvest.
"If settlers are coming in, burning trees or damaging the olives in any way, this is really damaging the Palestinians who have already had to suffer because of terrorism and the war. The settlers have no right to do this."
Additional reporting by Reuters
