The US has called on Israel to end settler violence in the occupied West Bank. Such acts are “incredibly destabilizing,” endanger Israel’s long-term security and are “extremely harmful” to local Palestinians, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters yesterday. Miller also announced that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken would visit Israel and neighboring Jordan tomorrow.
Washington gave the Israeli government a “very clear message” in negotiations that settler violence in the West Bank must stop and those responsible must be “held accountable,” Miller said.
The number of attacks is increasing rapidly
Since the start of the Gaza War, violence by Jewish settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank has increased. Around 1,000 people have been displaced from their homes since October 7, the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a recent situation report. The number of attacks by Jewish settlers has more than doubled, from three incidents per day at the start of the year to seven per day now.
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