Sheep, Stones, and Cameras: The Olive Harvest as a Battlefield in Judea and Samaria

PELONI: Well, it seems the “Settler Violence” campaign has now drawn the efforts of a French Communist Mayor amid the mounting effort to create an overwhelming basis on which to condemn the Israeli settlers.  Unsurprisingly, both the IDF and President Isaac Herzog played their role in immediately issuing their judgement and condemnation without taking the time for the facts of the situation to be reviewed and certified.  Happily, PM Netanyahu took the correct path to recognize that none of this passes the smell test and insisted that the “public and responsible journalists to demand verifiable evidence, to reject unfounded rumors and to refuse to turn unproven accusations into a collective indictment against the Jewish residents in Judea and Samaria.”  

Israel is a nation built on laws.  It is incumbent upon the leaders of the nation to base such judgements as were drawn by Herzog and the IDF on facts.  Criminal behavior can not be condoned, but it must be established as to who the actual criminal if not terrorist actually are before rendering such judgements.  Noting the recent sharp uptick in violence against Jews in Judea and Samaria as I reported recently, it would seem logical enough to proceed on a path of caution before rendering judgement.  The presence of a French Communist Mayor without authorization alone should have steadied the voices of the IDF and the Israeli President until the full reality of the situation was made clear.  Of course, this was not what took place, and it only adds to a series of events for which Jews are condemned for actions taken by or inspired by actual Arab provocateurs.

See the report by Elisha Yared at the bottom for further details and perspective.

??? EUROTRASH: EU POLITICIANS ACCUSED OF FAKING ‘SETTLER VIOLENCE’ INCIDENT IN ISRAEL TODAY

Earlier today, a delegation that included French Communist mayor Bernard Baudoux visited the village of Taybeh in Israel’s Binyamin region WITHOUT coordinating with the IDF. Local residents told Channel 14’s @eliya_aviv that footage shows the group faked a “settler violence” incident.

Left-wing outlets reported that the group, described as diplomats from France, Belgium, and Poland, was “attacked” by Jews, citing footage of Baudoux on the ground and a smashed vehicle window. Complicating the matter, the @IDF and the Israeli President @Isaac_Herzog were quick to hop on the bandwagon and condemn Jews.

Local residents provided footage and said it shows:

?? Baudoux lying on the ground before any Israeli residents had reached the scene
?? The only vehicle actually blocked belonged to the far-left activists who filmed the incident themselves
?? The radical activists that later told media it showed an attack on the delegation.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office @IsraeliPM wrote, “These reports come amid concerns about a coordinated campaign to smear Israel and the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria during the annual olive harvest, relying on sensational headlines before the full facts emerge.”

Baudoux, a French Communist Party official, has previously raised the ‘Palestinian’ Authority flag over his own town hall in France, and was escorted by members of the anarchist group “Torat Tzedek.”

— C14 News | EN (@c14english) October 17, 2026

Text:

EUROTRASH: EU POLITICIANS ACCUSED OF FAKING ‘SETTLER VIOLENCE’ INCIDENT IN ISRAEL TODAY Earlier today, a delegation that included French Communist mayor Bernard Baudoux visited the village of Taybeh in Israel’s Binyamin region WITHOUT coordinating with the IDF. Local residents told Channel 14’s @eliya_aviv that footage shows the group faked a “settler violence” incident. Left-wing outlets reported that the group, described as diplomats from France, Belgium, and Poland, was “attacked” by Jews, citing footage of Baudoux on the ground and a smashed vehicle window. Complicating the matter, the @IDF and the Israeli President @Isaac_Herzog  were quick to hop on the bandwagon and condemn Jews. Local residents provided footage and said it shows:

Baudoux lying on the ground before any Israeli residents had reached the scene

The only vehicle actually blocked belonged to the far-left activists who filmed the incident themselves

The radical activists that later told media it showed an attack on the delegation. The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office @IsraeliPM wrote, “These reports come amid concerns about a coordinated campaign to smear Israel and the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria during the annual olive harvest, relying on sensational headlines before the full facts emerge.” Baudoux, a French Communist Party official, has previously raised the ‘Palestinian’ Authority flag over his own town hall in France, and was escorted by members of the anarchist group “Torat Tzedek.”

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Elisha Yered | Jewish Resettlement News & Commentary | Guardians of the Mountains | October 18, 2026

In the village of Deir Abu Mash’al they documented this morning the sheep herd of Givat Tidhar in Wadi Zarqa in Binyamin, arriving for a drinking break at Ein Artaba.
Presence at the spring, which is near the road that runs through the wadi, was dangerous for Jews until four months ago. If you stayed there more than a few minutes, rioters from the village would already start coming down. Thank God that the Jewish shepherds are changing the situation on the ground and restoring security to the land of our ancestors.

* 2 villages in Binyamin announced in recent days the postponement of the olive harvest provocation planned near Jewish settlement points due to a shortage of foreign anarchists – “due to special circumstances”.*
It seems that the activity of the IDF and the Shai District Police to expel foreign anarchists from the country is beginning to bear fruit. Now it is obligatory to increase the pace and expel the remaining ones to ensure that the BDS festival held here under the cover of the olive harvest is eradicated.

* By the way, there’s no better proof than this that it’s purely a planned provocation.*
* For an olive harvest you don’t need anarchists with cameras, but rather sacks, bags and olive rakes – and these are in abundance for the Arabs.
Probably this time it’s a different kind of harvest*..
The olive harvest attacks continue.

* Arab rioters arrived a short time ago under the cover of the olive harvest near the Avnei Elad neighborhood in Karnei Shomron, and threw stones at residents.*
IDF fighters who were rushed to the scene arrested two of the attackers.

* The vehicle with which the rioter-harvesters arrived at the scene – ‘Mashtuba’ unsurprisingly.*

* On Saturday night:* Dozens of sheep were stolen from a farm in the Hebron Hills
Near 5 AM on Saturday morning, Arabs infiltrated one of the farms near the settlement of Susiya in the Hebron Hills and managed to steal dozens of sheep from the herd.
With the first light they discovered the theft at the farm, called in IDF forces and began extensive searches in the area. During the pursuit, the escape route of the thieves was located, which led to the village of Khirbet Ma’on, located on the outskirts of the murderers’ town of Yatta.
After extensive searches that lasted hours and included farmers, volunteers and army and police forces, part of the stolen herd was located in the village area and returned to its owners. The searches for the additional sheep continue.

Documentation from the minutes after the theft that occurred early Saturday morning at a farm in the Hebron Hills:
One of the Arab thieves, wrapped in a keffiyeh, quickly leads part of the Jewish sheep herd stolen from the farm into the village of Khirbet Ma’on on the outskirts of the town of Yatta.
The herd was apparently split into several places by the thieves and hidden in various Arab pens. Some of the stolen sheep, as mentioned, were located today during the searches, but others have not yet been found.

* Anarchists with cameras behind and masked faces in front:* A sheep shepherd in Binyamin was attacked with stones on Saturday under the cover of the olive harvest
Arab “harvesters” from the village of Deir Jarir who approached on Saturday the Ma’ale Ahuvia farm in Binyamin, noticed the farm’s sheep shepherd and began throwing stones at him while left-wing anarchist activists are by their side documenting the event.
The shepherd called IDF forces, but they were also attacked. In the documentation from the incident, masked Arabs are seen throwing stones at the fighters and the shepherd, while among them anarchists are observed ignoring the Arab violence and waiting with cameras for an opportune moment that will provide a biased and one-sided picture.
In the documentation, the rioters are even heard cursing the IDF fighters while throwing stones from close range, and also a stone hitting the shepherd who suppresses a cry of pain.
The IDF spokesman has not yet bothered to issue a response to the incident.

Additional documentation from the attack on the shepherd by “harvesters” and anarchists near the Ma’ale Ahuvia farm in Binyamin.
The rioters throw stones and curse the fighters, a stone hits the shepherd who suppresses a cry of pain.

* The French mayor from the provocation in Taybeh:* Called for sanctions on Israel and raised a Palestinian flag on the municipality building

* Dozens of foreign and Israeli anarchists who arrived today for an olive harvest provocation – together with senior antisemitic elements to the area between the village of Taybeh and the settlement of Ofra, were attacked according to reports by Jewish residents who tried to remove them from the place.*
In the IDF they say that the French mayor Bernard Baudoux who led the event did not coordinate his arrival in the area with the IDF as all senior foreign elements usually do – which increases the suspicion of a planned provocation.
A check about him online reveals that he is a distinctly anti-Israeli and pro-Palestinian element. In the past Baudoux called to impose sanctions on Israel and a Palestinian flag was officially raised on his municipality building, which caused a local storm on the part of the authorities in France who eventually ordered its removal.
Bernard Baudoux who serves as mayor of Halluin Amérique in northern France is a member of the French Communist Party PCF, which presents a distinctly anti-Israeli bordering on antisemitic line including support for boycott and sanctions on Israel as well as a weapons embargo.
Quite a few question marks hover over why he was allowed to enter Israel at all, and why the security forces did not monitor in advance his intentions to carry out provocations in this sensitive season.

 

Attached is a translation of a publication in English by the Prime Minister’s Office a short time ago:

The alleged attack on European diplomats: Serious accusations require solid evidence.

We call for caution before drawing conclusions from reports published today, according to which European diplomats were attacked by masked Israelis in Judea and Samaria. Any violence towards diplomats is unacceptable. The more severe the accusation, the greater the need for convincing evidence.

These are the facts known to us:

– The diplomatic delegation entered a sensitive area, where clashes have occurred in the past, without prior coordination with the IDF, as the army officially confirmed. Such coordination is essential for the protection of diplomats visiting the area and to prevent violence.

– The visit was attended by Bernard Baudot, a mayor on behalf of the French Communist Party, who previously hoisted the Palestinian flag over his city hall building, and as a result the authorities in France ordered it removed.

– In the documentation published, masked people are seen confronting a diplomatic vehicle. In separate photos a smashed window and a person lying on the ground are seen. These pictures in themselves do not make it possible to determine the full sequence of events or the personal responsibility of those involved. The circumstances of the incident are still being investigated.

– Israel Police and forensic investigators opened an investigation to clarify the facts and identify those responsible.

_These reports are published against the background of concern about a coordinated campaign to defame Israel and the Jewish residents in Judea and Samaria during the annual olive harvest season, relying on sensational headlines even before the facts have been fully clarified.

It is possible that in the coming days additional accusations will be raised. Until the evidence is examined in depth, the reputational damage that will be caused as a result of hasty conclusions may already be irreversible.

We call on the public and responsible journalists to demand verifiable evidence, to reject unfounded rumors and to refuse to turn unproven accusations into a collective indictment against the Jewish residents in Judea and Samaria.

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