'You're Pissing Me Off!': Meeting of European, Israeli Officials Allegedly Turns Into Verbal Brawl

Two weeks ago, a delegation of over a dozen European diplomats and ambassadors arrived in Israel in order to discuss the situation in the West Bank. However, the atmosphere of the meeting was reported to be rather far from diplomatic.

A recent meeting between an Israeli Foreign Ministry official and a European diplomatic delegation devolved into a shouting match when the participants tried to discuss the situation in the West Bank and the treatment of Palestinians, Walla News has reported, citing three European and Israeli diplomats.

According to the report, the British-led European delegation arrived in Jerusalem in order to lodge a protest against the treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank, particularly voicing concerns about violence by settlers against them.

Aside from this, the officials were said to have highlighted their objections to settlement building plans and other issues. Concerns were expressed regarding Israel's advancement in the contentious E1 area between Jerusalem and the settlement of Ma'ale Adumim, along with building plans in the Givat Hamatos neighbourhood of East Jerusalem.

The delegation's concerns, however, met little appreciation from Aliza Bin Noun - Israel's former ambassador to France, now serving as the director of the European Affairs Department at the Foreign Ministry, who took part in the meeting.

"After everything the new Israeli government has been doing for the Palestinians, you come to complain?", she shouted at the European officials. "You are pissing me off!"

The European diplomats who participated in the meeting shared with Walla News that the atmosphere of the meeting quickly spiralled out of control and deteriorated. Some of the officials tried to smooth things over but failed, and the discussion ended up in a "major crisis".

Israel welcomed a new government last June. Shortly after being sworn in, the new authorities announced thousands of permits for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to work in Israel and approved many building applications in Area C of the West Bank - a move that has not been seen in years, as noted by The Times of Israel.

In late October, Israel announced plans to build more than 3,000 new settlement units in the West Bank. Such plans received condemnation from the United States, with State Department spokesperson Ned Price slamming the project as "completely inconsistent with efforts to lower tensions and to ensure calm, and damages the prospects for a two-state solution".

The territories of the West Bank controlled by Israel are seen by the Palestinians as part of their future state. While Tel Aviv faces accusations from critics of "stealing" the land, it argues that it was never privately owned. Additionally, Israel views the West Bank as historically Jewish land.