Negotiations continue this Friday, August 16, in Doha with a view to reaching a truce in the Gaza Strip, at a time when a bloody attack perpetrated by Jewish settlers in the West Bank has aroused general condemnation, including that of Israeli leaders.
Key facts:
⇒ Washington castigates “unacceptable” attacks by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank
⇒ Israeli President denounces a “pogrom”
⇒ Resumption of negotiations for a truce in Gaza
Washington slams ‘unacceptable’ attacks by Israeli settlers in occupied West Bank
The White House on Thursday called violence by Jewish settlers against Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank “unacceptable,” after an attack that left one dead and one seriously injured, according to the Palestinian Authority.
“Violent settler attacks on Palestinian civilians in the West Bank are unacceptable and must stop,” a spokesman for the White House’s National Security Council said in a statement. The spokesman also urged Israeli authorities to take necessary measures to “protect all communities.”
Israeli President denounces a “pogrom”
The attack was also condemned by the United States and many Israeli leaders, with President Isaac Herzog going so far as to denounce a “pogrom.” “I strongly condemn tonight’s pogrom in Samaria,” Herzog wrote in a message on X, using the name of the biblical province corresponding to the northern West Bank.
According to the Israeli army, dozens of Israeli civilians stormed around 8:00 p.m. (17:00 GMT) into Jit, located between Nablus and Qalqilya, setting fire to buildings and vehicles and throwing stones and Molotov cocktails. Soldiers and border guards “evacuated Israeli civilians from the town” and handed over one of them to the police, a military spokesman told AFP. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, one man died “under settler bullets” and another was wounded by a bullet to the chest. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “takes seriously the riots that took place this evening in the village of Jit,” his office said in a statement, assuring that “those responsible for any criminal act will be arrested and prosecuted.”
Gaza truce negotiations resume
In Doha, the Qatari Foreign Ministry confirmed that negotiations for a truce in the Gaza Strip would continue on Friday. The Qatari, Egyptian and American mediators “remain firmly committed to continuing their efforts to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip that would facilitate the release of the hostages and allow the entry into Gaza of the largest possible quantity of humanitarian aid,” the ministry said in a statement.
CIA Director William Burns and the heads of Israel’s foreign (Mossad) and domestic (Shin Beth) intelligence services are present at the talks. Hamas is not taking part, but on Thursday night one of its leaders, Osama Hamdan, told AFP that the movement had informed the mediators in Doha of its position.
If the talks are aimed at “setting a timetable for implementing what was presented and accepted by Hamas, then we will participate,” he explained. “If the mediators manage to force (Israel) to accept this, we will participate (in the talks). But so far, there is nothing new.”