US condemns Israeli minister's genocidal comments after settler riot in Palestinian town
Washington DC - The US State Department on Wednesday condemned comments made by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who said he wanted the small Palestinian town of Huwara in the West Bank "wiped out."
On Sunday, two Israelis, aged 20 and 22, were shot dead by a suspected Palestinian gunman in Huwara, a village south of Nablus in the northern West Bank.
Afterward, Israeli settlers rioted in the vicinity of the crime scene, injuring hundreds of Palestinians and killing at least one. Dozens of houses, shops, and cars were also set on fire.
Smotrich, a far-right politician who is also in charge of settlement expansion in the West Bank, told TheMarker business daily at a conference on Wednesday: "I think the village of Huwara must be wiped out. I think the state of Israel has to do this, for God's sake, not private citizens."
US State Department spokesman Ned Price condemned the comments.
"These comments were irresponsible. They were repugnant. They were disgusting," he said in Washington.
"Just as we condemn Palestinian incitement to violence, we condemn these provocative remarks that also amount to incitement to violence."
Several American Jewish organizations blasted Smotrich's genocidal remarks, while some want his US visa revoked
Price calls on far-right Israeli prime minister to reject comments
Price went on to call on far-right Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials "to publicly and clearly reject and disavow these comments."
"We condemn, as we have consistently, terrorism and extremism in all of its forms. And we continue to urge that there be equal measures of accountability for extremist actions regardless of the background of the perpetrators or the victims," Price told reporters.
He said it is now more important than ever that Israelis and Palestinians work together to de-escalate tensions and restore the calm that both Israelis and Palestinians deserve.
According to estimates by the Central Palestinian Bureau of Statistics, around 7,400 Palestinians live in Huwara. A central connecting road runs through the small town, which is also used daily by many Israeli settlers in the northern West Bank.
Since the beginning of the year, at least 63 Palestinians have been killed, mostly in Israeli military operations. At the same time, 13 Israelis and one Ukrainian woman have been killed in Palestinian attacks.
Israel has occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 1967, illegally establishing settlements and instituting what Amnesty International has called a form of apartheid.
Cover photo: REUTERS