US Officials Visit West Bank Village Following Violent Settler Attacks on Diplomats
US diplomats visit Taybeh after masked Israeli settlers assaulted European officials and a French mayor in the occupied West Bank. Get the latest update.
POLICY WIRE — Taybeh, West Bank — American diplomatic representatives traveled to the Christian Palestinian village of Taybeh on Sunday to assess the situation following a series of violent confrontations involving militant Israeli settlers.
The visit included Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Riley Barnes and US Ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch. Their arrival followed a Saturday incident in which masked Israeli settlers targeted a delegation that included European diplomats, a 78-year-old French mayor, and local Palestinian civilians.
Witnesses reported that the extremists assaulted residents and shattered the window of a vehicle belonging to the European diplomatic mission. This confrontation occurred just one day after a separate attack involving an American photojournalist in the same region.
The 27-member European bloc released a formal statement on Sunday addressing the violence. The incident has intensified international scrutiny regarding the rising frequency of settler aggression within the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)
