Peace Now, an Israeli anti-settlement group, reported that the land grab is Israel’s largest land expropriation in the Palestinian territories since the incident in 2014 where Israel declared almost 1,000 acres of the West Bank as state land. The statement said the US Ambassador put his hands on the right points of which the Palestinian leadership has repeatedly warned and explained their hazards on the peace process as well as their repercussions on the two-state solution.
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Ambassador Dan Shapiro’s supposed misstep was to observe in a speech to a security conference that Israel applies the law differently to Israelis and Palestinians living in the West Bank.
“The EU reiterates its strong opposition to Israel’s settlement policy and actions taken in this context, such as building the separation barrier beyond the 1967 line, demolitions and confiscation, including of EU funded projects, evictions, forced transfers including of Bedouins, illegal outposts and restrictions of movement and access”, the EU said.
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“We believe they’re fundamentally incompatible with a two-state solution and call into question, frankly, the Israeli government’s commitment to a two-state solution”, Deputy State Department spokesman Mark Toner said on Wednesday. Wallstrom’s comments incensed Israeli officials, who said she was no longer welcome in their country. “They have no other choice but to work there”, Elayyan said. This public rebuke from Israel’s top ally has then incited an angry response from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Some Israeli commentators saw it as no coincidence that Shapiro’s remarks were made so soon after the lifting of sanctions against Iran and at such a high profile forum.
While U.S. remains to be Israel’s closest friend and a reliable ally, Shapiro stated that they share the role in calling out Israel’s errors. The Palestinians are adamantly opposed.
“It said that Faraj’s comments did not come as a surprise because the Palestinian Authority has always been conducting security coordination with Israel”. With less than a year of Barack Obama’s presidency to run, and nearly no prospect of a return to Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, some analysts think the USA administration could step up its criticism of Israel over the coming months. Mustafa was shot and killed by Israeli forces in Jerusalem, Oct. 12, 2015, after a stabbing attempt on border police officers, Israeli police said.
“As Ambassador Shapiro was wrongly castigating Israel on the world stage, Palestinian leaders were unabashedly praising the Dafna’s killers and further inciting Palestinians to continue the ‘Intifada of Knives, ‘” he wrote.
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An army official said the measure would be evaluated daily.
