World condemns 'horrific', 'unacceptable' Qalqilya settlers aggression
4 Min Read
EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell has announced over social platform X his intentions to submit a proposal to impose sanctions by the EU against some Israeli officials and violent settlers.
-
Palestinians inspect a burnt car following a deadly settler attack on Jit, occupied West Bank, on August 16, 2024. (AFP)
The US, UK, France, and Germany, as well as the UN and the EU Foreign Policy chief, have condemned the "unacceptable" violence by Israeli settlers in Qalqilya.
A Palestinian youth was killed and another was critically injured on Thursday evening during an attack by Israeli settlers on the village of Jit, east of Qalqilya, in the occupied West Bank, Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported.
The settlers also set fire to several Palestinian homes and vehicles in Jit. According to local sources, Israeli occupation forces blocked Palestinian Civil Defense teams from reaching the burning homes and vehicles to extinguish the flames.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry called the attack "organized state terrorism," describing the settlers' rampage as a serious escalation in ongoing crimes against Palestinians. It demanded "deterrent sanctions against the racist colonial system, the dismantling of terrorist settler gangs, and the prosecution of their members."
"استشهاد الشاب رشيد عبد القادر (23 عامًا) برصاص المستوطنين في بلدة جيت شرق قلقيلية بعد اقتحام المستوطنين للبلدة" 👇 #فلسطين #الميادين pic.twitter.com/1WRoM3YqCE
— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) August 15, 2024
The White House described the attacks as "unacceptable" and said they "must stop", calling on Israeli authorities to protect "all communities from harm, this includes intervening to stop such violence, and holding all perpetrators of such violence to account."
David Lammy, the British Foreign Minister, called the deadly attack on Jit "abhorrent" and condemned it "in the strongest of terms".
"The scenes overnight of the burning and the torching of buildings, of the Molotov cocktails thrown at cars... and chasing of people from their homes is abhorrent, and I condemn it in the strongest of terms," he said to reporters in a visit to occupied al-Quds.
Germany also denounced the attack as "unacceptable" with Berlin's Foreign Ministry posting on X: "We condemn the violence of extremist settlers."
"This violence is unacceptable, the attacks must stop immediately," according to the statement. "Palestinians have a right to live in safety. Israel has an obligation to protect Palestinians in the West Bank."
French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne criticized the attack and called it "unacceptable". warning that it might jeopardize Gaza ceasefire talks.
While in occupied al-Quds, Sejourne noted that "any action that could jeopardize the negotiation process towards a ceasefire deal is unacceptable."
The Jordanian Foreign Ministry also condemned the attack, describing it as a "continued terrorist attack."
Borrell proposes sanctions
EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell announced over social platform X his intentions to submit a proposal to impose sanctions by the EU against some Israeli officials and violent settlers.
"Day after day, in an almost total impunity, Israeli settlers fuel violence in the occupied West Bank, contributing to endanger any chance of peace," Borrell wrote at X.
We condemn settlers attacks in Jit, aimed at terrorising Palestinian civilians.
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) August 16, 2024
Day after day, in an almost total impunity, Israeli settlers fuel violence in the occupied West Bank, contributing to endanger any chance of peace. 1/2
Any such measures would require unanimous consent from the EU's 27 member states, who are split on their position on "Israel."
UN lambasts Israeli impunity
The United Nations condemned the deadly Israeli settler attack, saying that such attacks are "by and large" being carried out with impunity.
UN human rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said at a news conference that some Israeli security forces are "standing by as attacks take place," describing how in some cases, weapons are being provided to settlers.
"So there is clearly a state responsibility in this regard," she expressed, adding that the violence is not an isolated attack but rather "the direct consequence of Israel's policy of settlement in the West Bank," she added.
Shamdasani indicated that the "crux of the matter" was the "impunity that the perpetrators of such grave violations have been enjoying," detailing how "there have been some, very few, investigations -- but even in those cases, most of the times, these do not conclude with justice for the victims and for the perpetrators."
These latest incidents are part of a broader escalation of violence in the West Bank, which has seen an increase in confrontations since the start of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.
Towns and cities across the West Bank have been subjected to daily incursions by settlers and occupation forces, often resulting in widespread arrests, as well as deaths and injuries.
At least 606 Palestinians have been killed and about 5,400 others have been wounded at the hands of the Israeli occupation forces and Israeli settlers in various cities and camps of the West Bank since the start of the war on Gaza on October 7.
#بالفيديو | مستوطنون يحرقون مركبة لفلسطيني خلال هجوم على قرية جيت شرق #قلقيلية.#الميادين #فلسطين pic.twitter.com/paUuauJiA8
— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) August 15, 2024
