US Secretary of State Asks Israel to Curb Settler Violence in West Bank

Washington, MINA – United States (US) Minister of Foreign Affairs Antony Blinken asked Israel to take urgent steps to curb violence committed by Israeli colonial settlers against Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank.

Blinken’s statement was made in a telephone call with Israel’s wartime cabinet minister, Benny Gantz.

“Blinken emphasized the urgent need for affirmative steps to defuse tensions in the West Bank, including by confronting increasing levels of settler extremist violence,” said the US State Department in a press statement, as quoted by Wafa on Friday.

Israeli settler violence has increased significantly since the start of Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza, averaging three to seven incidents per day, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OHCA).

Blinken’s comments came as Israeli occupation forces carried out raids in the occupied West Bank and continued raids on several major hospitals in Gaza, including the Al-Shifa Medical Complex, forcing them to halt operations amid a shortage of fuel needed to operate power plants.

France also condemned the violence carried out by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, calling it a “policy of terror” aimed at displacing Palestinians and urged the Israeli occupation authorities to protect Palestinians from such violence.

“Regarding the West Bank, I would like to convey France’s strong condemnation of the violence perpetrated by settlers against Palestinians,” French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Anne-Claire Legendre said at a press conference.

“Violence that has a clear aim is the forced displacement of Palestinians and a policy of terror,” she continued.

She said Israeli authorities needed to take necessary measures to protect the Palestinian population and warned that the settlement actions were detrimental to the two-state solution. (T/RE1/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)