On Thursday, the commander of Israel’s premier paratrooper brigade, Colonel Nimrod Aloni, said tackling Palestinian violence was a matter of “a great degree of confusion”.
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The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Thursday that Israel assumes the responsibility of the Palestinian youth reactions, in reference to the current wave of violence that has been flaring between Palestinians and Israel since October.
Israel says the unrest stems from incitement by Palestinian leaders.
Two Palestinians were shot and killed in separate incidents Thursday in the West Bank as Israel announced plans to build a new fence near the flashpoint city of Hebron in an effort to contain a two-month spate of violence. These would include giving the Palestinian Authority self-rule powers in parts of the West Bank where Israel maintains sole security and administrative control. On the way towards the police station where the Palestinian boys were taken by the Israeli forces – near the Ibrahimi mosque-two worldwide human rights activists were documenting the events at the scene. Tsipras said that his government is in favor of a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders.
A statement released by the Red Crescent on Friday evening said its paramedics got out of the vehicle to offer aid to the wounded, but then an Israel Defense Forces ambulance arrived and soldiers emerged with guns drawn.
The Palestinians and the global community, including the US, reject all settlement activity as illegal or illegitimate. Furthermore, construction permits for Palestinians are conditional on worldwide recognition of building in the Israel settlement blocs in the West Bank.
During a press conference he held with the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipra in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Abbas said the Palestinians are living under hard and “unbearable” conditions. “He said a calm should be brought in place so other issues can then be discussed”, the Palestinian official said.
Before Tuesday, Kerry had visited Israel and the Palestinian territories only once since the latest peace process collapsed, in July 2014.
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America’s broader concerns are the same and Kerry nearly surely pressed both sides in private to avoid provocative actions.
