Iron Bars and Kicks: Settlers Assault Visiting French Mayor in Taybeh
Bernard Baudoux, mayor of the northern French town of Aulnoye-Aymeries, was beaten with iron bars and kicked by Israeli settlers on October 17 during a diplomatic visit to the West Bank town of Taybeh. Foreign delegations and municipal officials operating in Palestinian territories face escalating violent disruption after assailants ambushed Baudoux while he wore his official French tricolour sash to sign a goodwill cooperation agreement alongside France’s consul general in Jerusalem and a parish priest.
Official Delegation Ambushed as Violence Targets Foreign Diplomatic Envoys
Assailants arriving in two to three vehicles descended on the delegation, shouting insults about France before throwing Baudoux to the ground, kicking him, and striking him with iron rods. The parish priest helped Baudoux to his feet, enabling the delegation to flee in a car and escape serious physical injury. Baudoux subsequently completed his visit to Taybeh, a largely Christian town partnering with his municipality, before stating that the assault demonstrated explicit government tolerance for settler violence in the occupied territory. He expected the attack to go unpunished despite Israeli assurances that an investigation would take place.
