The car had diplomatic license plates and belonged to the Russian mission to the Palestinian Authority, reported Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
The car was damaged, and the diplomats there for shuttling to Moscow were "lynched" (someone threw stones at them and swore). She accused: "Israeli soldiers watched and did not help the victims."
The incident sparked an angry reaction from Moscow, which called it a "flagrant violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961." The Russian Embassy in Tel Aviv sent a demarche letter to the government of Israel.
Criticism at the United Nations
Russia's first deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyansky, addressed the question on Tuesday at a UN Security Council meeting. The session was initially devoted to the case of Israeli captives in Gaza.
Polyansky also slammed the Israeli policy of "cleaning and colonizing" Palestinian territories as unacceptable.
He added that the attack on the Russian car was "under the lenient eye of the Israeli military," pointing out a general trend where Palestinians as well as foreign nationals are subject to more frequent raids and acts of settler violence.
He cautioned that the current situation, in which there is continued pressure on Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank, has dire ramifications for Middle East stability and could potentially ignite a larger-scale confrontation.
The West Bank Erupts in Violence
Violence in the West Bank has spiked since October 2023. The United Nations found that between January 1, 2024, and early July 2025, nearly 650 Palestinians, including 121 children, were killed by Israeli forces and settlers.
In addition, over 5,269 Palestinians have sustained wounds during this period of time, namely 1,029 kids. Since then, settler incidents have caused over 2,200 Palestinian injuries and damaged thousands of properties.
Russia has added its voice to the growing international alarm over settler violence and reportedly lax efforts by Israeli security forces to stop attacks on civilians and foreign diplomats in the occupied Palestinian territories.
