Israeli officials had been looking to “send a message” to the European Union to express their displeasure at the EU guidelines banning the involvement of EU citizens in settlement operations run in contrary of international law. The message sent today is far beyond what was expected.

Israeli troops attacked a group of EU diplomats in the occupied West Bank today, throwing concussive grenades at them and flinging them to the ground in front of international reporters, ignoring the diplomatic immunity enjoyed by the officials.

Having done that, the troops seized all of the emergency aid that the diplomats had, including a truckload of tents, and made off with it, trucks and all.

The Israeli military confirmed the incident, claiming they had “foiled” an attempt by the diplomats to rebuild the demolished homes of Palestinians. Officials with Israel’s Foreign Ministry also said they are considering filing a formal complaint to the French government because one of the diplomats, a French woman who was thrown violently out of the truck by troops, behaved inappropriately in complaining about it, though other government officials said they planned to investigate the reports of the diplomat’s mistreatment.

The tents appear to have been intended to provide temporary shelter to the civilian population of Khirbet al-Makhul, a small Bedouin village destroyed on Monday.