DOMINANT ANGLE
Romania reports the attack on the European diplomatic convoy as an incident between Israel and several Union states, detailing the condemnations from Paris and Brussels and the response from Gideon Saar.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Settlers attacked a convoy of French, Belgian, and Polish diplomats in Taybeh on Saturday; Bernard Baudoux, the 78-year-old mayor of Aulnoye-Aymeries, was thrown to the ground, with no hospitalization required (G4Media, Digi24).
- 02
Gideon Saar strongly condemned the violence while criticizing European consulates for not coordinating the visit with the Israeli army (G4Media).
- 03
Belgian Minister Maxime Prévot announced that Belgium would continue to push the EU to impose sanctions on the settlers involved (Digi24).
ANALYSIS
En Roumanie, October 17. Digi24 and G4Media, the latter according to AFP and Agerpres, report on the attack that occurred on Saturday, October 17, in Taybeh, a majority Christian village in the West Bank, against a convoy of European diplomats. Cars from the French, Belgian, and Polish missions were transporting the delegation, which was participating in the olive harvest with Palestinian farmers and the launch of a twinning agreement between Taybeh and Aulnoye-Aymeries, in northern France.
The account focuses on Bernard Baudoux, a 78-year-old communist mayor. According to Digi24, he was wearing his tricolor scarf and trying to get into a vehicle with diplomatic plates when he was "attacked and thrown to the ground". A witness quoted by the site claims that the masked assailant shouted "Vive la France". G4Media, citing AFP, mentions kicks and a video where the elected official is seen collapsing near a car; two people who spoke to him indicate that hospitalization was not necessary. Digi24 adds that his wife and the Archbishop of Cambrai, Vincent Dollmann, were threatened by seven men, some armed with sticks, and that a window of a Belgian armored vehicle was broken.
Digi24 also describes, according to the account it reproduces, the prior aggression against Palestinians: stolen olives, a woman around 70 years old beaten and insulted, a man injured in the head, requiring six stitches.
Reactions occupy a large place. Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot condemned the violence against Palestinians, diplomats, and journalists and said that Belgium will continue to push the European Union to sanction the colonists involved. Gideon Saar, the head of Israeli diplomacy, "firmly condemned these serious acts" attributing them to "turbulent Israeli elements", while reproaching the European consulates for not having coordinated the visit with the Israeli army.
The two media outlets present the episode as an escalation of violence against the olive harvest, without placing it in Israeli domestic politics or a Romanian debate. The retained angle is that of a diplomatic incident targeting representatives of EU countries, of which Romania is a member, with particular attention to the religious dimension of the village and the presence of a prelate.
