The US secretary of state “underscored the urgent need to take tangible steps to de-escalate tensions in the West Bank, particularly to address rising levels of extremist violence by settlers,” according to a press release issued by State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Thursday called on the Israeli government to take “urgent” steps to end “extremist violence” by Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank amid the war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Mr. Blinken, in San Francisco for the APEC meeting, made the appeal during a telephone conversation with Benny Gantz, an Israeli opposition leader who has joined the wartime government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The US secretary of state “underscored the urgent need to take tangible steps to de-escalate tensions in the West Bank, particularly to address rising levels of extremist violence by settlers,” according to a press release issued by State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
Mr. Blinken also discussed with Mr. Gantz the diplomatic efforts being made to free Hamas hostages.
About 240 people were kidnapped by Hamas militants on October 7, when the Palestinian Islamist movement launched an unprecedented attack on Israeli territory that killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli authorities. Israeli retaliatory shelling of the Gaza Strip has killed more than 11,500 people, also the vast majority civilians, including 4,710 children, according to Hamas’ health ministry.
Since the outbreak of the war, at least 190 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by fire from Israeli soldiers or Jewish settlers, according to Palestinian health authorities.
The Israeli military has multiplied its raids in the area, stressing that it is reacting to the “great increase in terrorist attacks”, citing “over 550 attempted attacks since the start of the war”.
In the West Bank, Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since the 1967 war, about three million Palestinians live, including 490,000 Israeli settlers in settlements that the UN considers illegal under international law.
Mr. Gantz, a centrist politician and general, has agreed to join the wartime government under Prime Minister Netanyahu. The head of the Israeli right leads a governing coalition with far-right parties that strongly support further settlement in the West Bank.
Source :Skai
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
