WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) – According to the US government, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should slow down “extremist settlers” in the West Bank and hold them accountable. US President Joe Biden’s security adviser Jake Sullivan said on US television on Sunday: “We believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu has a responsibility to rein in the extremist settlers in the West Bank who, as President Biden put it a few days ago, Add fuel to the fire.” It is “completely unacceptable for extremist settlers to commit violence against innocent people in the West Bank.”
The US would continue to push for this, said Sullivan. This is not a one-time affair. “This is an ongoing challenge that will require continued and increased efforts from the Israeli government,” the security adviser stressed. It is expected that the Israeli government will take action and “that the extremist settlers who carry out this type of violence will be held accountable.”
Paris also condemned settler violence, which the French Foreign Ministry said has led to the deaths of several Palestinian civilians in Kusra and Al-Sawija in recent days. The acts of violence are intolerable and must stop. “France calls on the Israeli authorities to take immediate measures to protect the Palestinian population, particularly the community of Susja, which has received immediate threats,” it said in a statement on Sunday evening.
The US President had already expressed concern about “extremist” settlers in the West Bank on Wednesday and condemned violence against Palestinians. “I remain concerned about extremist settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank,” Biden said. This has to stop now. He had already said that such attacks were like adding fuel to the fire. According to the UN human rights office, violence by armed Israeli settlers against Palestinians is increasing.
Biden reiterated that Israel has the right and responsibility to respond to attacks by Hamas terrorists. “But that does not diminish the need to act in accordance with the laws of war. Israel must do everything in its power to protect innocent civilians, however difficult that may be,” said the US President. Israel should focus on “prosecuting the people who are propagating this war against Israel.”/trö/DP/men