Nov. 4 (UPI) — The United States renewed its call on Israel to take action against violent, illegal settlers on Monday after Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank were shot at when they attempted to put out nearly two dozen vehicles that were set ablaze.
The Biden administration has been trying to get the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to act on settler violence targeting Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank, which has spiked amid the Middle Eastern country’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
Overnight, it was reported that settlers set fire to 20 cars owned by Palestinians in the West Bank city of al-Bireh and fired at those who attempted to put out the blazes.
Videos of the aftermath posted online, but not verified by UPI, show numerous parked vehicles on a street destroyed, some reduced to essentially charred, gray frames.
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters during a regular press briefing Monday that the Biden administration was “deeply concerned” by this and other recent settler attacks targeting Palestinians, as well as attacks preventing Palestinians from harvesting their olive crops during the ongoing crucial economic olive harvest season.
“It is critical that the Government of Israel deter extremist settler violence and take measures to protect all communities from harm, in accordance with its international obligations. This includes intervening, preventing and stopping such violence,” Miller said.
“It is further incumbent upon the relevant authorities to do everything possible to de-escalate tensions and hold all perpetrators of violence against civilians equally accountable — no matter the background of the perpetrator or the victim.”
UPI has contacted the Netanyahu’s office for comment.
Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territory and the establishment of settlements there are widely viewed as illegal under international law and have attracted repeated criticism and condemnation of the United Nations and the wider international community.
Amid Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, greater attention and criticism have been directed at Israel over its occupation of the West Bank as it is a growing flashpoint of violence between Israelis and Palestinians.
According to an update from the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, between Oct. 7, 2023, when the war began, and Thursday, there have been nearly 1,600 attacks by Israeli settlers targeting Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
Last month, it documented nearly 270 such incidents, resulting in nearly 60 Palestinians injured by settlers and property damage, including more than 1,000 olive trees burnt, felled or vandalized.
The Biden administration has described this violence as being an obstacle to achieving a two-state solution and has turned to using sanctions as a way to pressure Israel to do something about the problem.
Since February, the United States has blacklisted 14 people and 13 related entities in response to settler violence.
Miller said he did not have additional sanctions to announce on Monday, but that this recent attack is similar to previous ones that did lead to designations.
“We certainly will be looking at this one, as we have looked at others, to see first of all if the Government of Israel takes steps to impose accountability, and if they don’t, what we might do on our end to take action,” he said.
Along with the United States, Britain and Canada have also imposed sanctions against violent settlers.
