Settler attacks continue amid ‘timid’ Israeli government response

RAMALLAH: Settler attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank continued for the third day running, with Palestinian sources and human rights activists condemning the “complete silence” of Israel’s security forces and “timid” government response to the violence.
Israeli settlers went on a rampage on Monday, torching dozens of cars and homes in a Palestinian town. One Palestinian was also killed in the violence following the killing of two Israelis by a suspected Palestinian gunman in the northern West Bank.
On Tuesday, another motorist was shot to death in the same manner in the occupied West Bank. The victim held both US and Israeli citizenship.
So far this year, 62 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops and civilians. In the same period, 14 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks. Since the beginning of 2023, confrontations have escalated in the West Bank, including in East Jerusalem.
On Monday, Hussein Al-Sheikh, chief of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s executive committee, met with Hady Amr, US special envoy for Palestinian affairs, to discuss ways to protect Palestinians against settler and military attacks.
Al-Sheikh and Amr spoke about the brutal settler violence in Nablus, Hawara and other West Bank cities.
Amr visited Hawara on Tuesday in the aftermath of the attacks, hearing testimonies from residents. He was briefed on the damage and losses suffered by residents.
The US Embassy in Jerusalem said in a statement that Amr visited “the victims of the Hawara attack and expressed his deepest condolences, and condemned the indiscriminate, widespread and unacceptable acts of violence by settlers.”
According to the statement, Amr said that he is “very concerned about the escalation of violence in the West Bank. We want to see full accountability and prosecution through the law of those responsible for these heinous attacks, and compensation for those whose property has been lost or otherwise damaged.”
Al-Sheikh said on Twitter: “We discussed many regional and international issues, especially the brutal attacks against the Palestinian people, including killing and burning homes by the occupation and settlers, the latest of which was in Nablus, Hawara and the cities of the West Bank.”
He added that the meeting “is a continuation of a series of meetings between the Palestinian leadership and the US administration.”
Israeli authorities have yet to announce any arrest or prosecution related to the Hawara violence.
An anonymous high-ranking Palestinian official told Arab News: “What happened in Hawara is very terrible, and the ugliness of that event forced the US to use firmer and tougher language against Israel in an attempt to protect it from its madness that will bring destruction to the region.
“While the Israel army and settlers were taking turns to abuse the Palestinians, their roles became integrated during the burning of Hawara residents’ homes and vehicles.”
Palestinian political analyst Ghassan Khatib told Arab News that the Biden administration is approaching the Israeli government “with great caution.”
The shift in policy, he said, is “limited to speech and condemnations of Israel’s actions. Israel does not take verbal criticism seriously, so its effect is almost limited.”
Khatib added that the US should take punitive measures against Israel to end its destructive policies toward Palestinians.
Political analyst Majdi Halabi told Arab News: “Netanyahu’s condemnation of the Hawara arson incident came late and was timid.”
Palestinians in Israel are organizing a protest in solidarity with the victims of settler attacks.
Israeli forces, meanwhile, tightened their lockdown of Jericho city, with all primary and secondary entrances closed, and citizen movement restricted. Jericho residents said that on Monday evening, the Israeli army raided several homes in Aqabat Jabr camp, south of the city.
On Tuesday, the Israeli Jerusalem Municipality demolished a Palestinian home in Jabal Mukaber village on the outskirts of the city.
In another development, an ultra-nationalist ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tendered his resignation as a deputy minister in the new government.
Avi Maoz’s departure is the first crack in Netanyahu’s ruling coalition, which assumed office in late December after securing a parliamentary majority in elections the previous month.