An Israeli soldier stands guard near the Jewish settlement of Otniel in the West Bank, January 17, after a female resident of the settlement was stabbed to death in her home when an assailant broke into her house, the Israeli army and a local settlement official said.
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The European Union agreed a statement on the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process after resolving differences over wording which some felt was too critical of Israel.
US ambassador to Israel slams Israel’s West Bank settlement policies during the annual conference of the Institute for National Security Studies.
“Too much Israeli vigilantism in the West Bank goes on unchecked”, Shapiro said, adding that too often Israel fails to investigate thoroughly cases of violence against Palestinians.
Earlier this week, the Prime Minister’s Office dismissed as “unacceptable and wrong” an uncharacteristically sharp public criticism of Israel’s legal standards leveled by Shapiro, who said there seems at times to be one standard of law in the West Bank for Israelis, and another for Palestinians.
Israeli prime minister Bibi Netanyahu was not pleased. “The Palestinian Authority, which continues to incite and refuses to negotiate, is responsible for the freeze in negotiations”.
The United Nations (UN) and most countries regard the Israeli settlements as illegal because the territories were captured by Israel in a war in 1967 and are hence subject to the Geneva Conventions, which forbid construction on occupied lands.
The Israeli defence ministry unit that oversees civilian affairs in the West Bank, known as COGAT, said in a statement that “the lands are in final stages to be declared as state lands”.
Israel on Tuesday slammed a report by an worldwide watchdog, which accused companies operating in or dealing with the West Bank settlements of facilitating the violation of Palestinians’ rights in the occupied territories.
Shapiro’s remarks sparked a terse response from Netanyahu, who said they were inappropriate at a time of heightened violence involving the Palestinians.
The US ambassador referred to the indictment of four Jewish extremists in various violent crimes against Palestinians, including the arson attack last July, which claimed a life of an 18-month old baby and his parents.
Daniel Shapiro said Washington was “concerned and perplexed” over Israel’s strategy of building West Bank settlements.
The move followed the killing of three Israeli teenagers snatched from a roadside in the same area.
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The settlements are seen as major stumbling blocks toward peace efforts since they are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state.
