Israeli and US leaders condemn settler rampage after Palestinian man killed
One West Bank man dies in attack on Palestinian town
The White House has issued a stern rebuke to Israel as extremist settlers appeared to mark the opening of ceasefire talks in Doha with a violent rampage in the West Bank in which a 23-year-old Palestinian man was killed and houses and cars attacked.
The riot took place on Thursday night in the northern West Bank village of Jit. IDF reports said that settlers, some of whom were masked, had throw rocks and Molotov cocktails as they attacked the town, which is near Nablus. There was also an attack on the neighbouring town of Huwara, which has been the object of settler violence previously.
Local sources said that 23-year-old Mahmoud Abdel Qader Sadda had been killed and another man shot in the chest.
America’s National Security Council spokesperson said bluntly: “Attacks by violent settlers against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank are unacceptable and must stop. Israeli authorities must take measures to protect all communities from harm. This includes intervening to stop such violence and holding all perpetrators of such violence to account”.
Israel’s Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, posted on social media: “At a time when our troops are fighting on the frontlines, defending the State of Israel, a group of radical individuals have launched a riot, and attacked innocent people. They do not represent the values of the communities living in Samaria.
“I strongly condemn any form of violence, and fully support the IDF, ISA (security services) and Israeli police in fulfilling their roles and addressing this issue.
“Violent, radical riots are the opposite of every code and value upheld by the State of Israel.
Peace Now called the latest attacks “pure settler terrorism – supported by the state, sponsored by our government”.
A statement from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s office said that he viewed the “disturbances” with “utmost severity”. In what has been interpreted as a sideswipe at his hard-right coalition government partners, who have been blamed by the opposition for fomenting such violence, the prime minister added: “It is the IDF and the security forces that fight terrrorism, and nobody else”.
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