ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The European Union on Sunday “strongly” condemned an attack on European diplomats by Israeli settlers a day earlier, calling for “full accountability.”

On Saturday, Israeli settlers in the West Bank attacked a convoy of European diplomats, with videos showing masked men beating a French mayor.

“The EU strongly condemns the latest attacks by violent settlers in the West Bank, including on European diplomats,” the EU said in a statement.

“We expect full accountability as well as effective measures to prevent continued acts of violence and violent harassment against Palestinians, including during the ongoing olive harvest season, as well as against journalists,” the statement added.

Violence has surged ahead of Israel's October 27 elections, amid an olive harvest repeatedly disrupted by settlers. The pro-settler right wing are among Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s voter base.

Palestinians and human rights organizations have long accused the Israeli army of turning a blind eye to extremist settlers, if not actively shielding them.

“There is a tolerance on the part of the Israeli government,” for the settlers’ behaviour left-wing mayor of Aulnoye-Aymeries in northern France who was attacked, Bernard Baudoux, told AFP.

On Friday, circulating videos showed multiple people attacking American photojournalist Heidi Levine of the Washington Post. She was one of at least two people injured in the incident, which also happened while Israeli settlers were attacking Palestinians.

A day later, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington is “very disturbed by those images” and that it has called on Israeli authorities to do more in deterring such attacks.

“We urge Israel to fully abide by International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law, and to cease the expansion of settlements,” the EU statement concluded.

More than 500,000 Israeli settlers now live in communities scattered across the West Bank, territory Israel has occupied since 1967. These settlements are deemed illegal under international law.