US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Israel on Thursday to take urgent action to stop settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Blinken made the request during a phone chat with Benny Gantz, an opposition leader who joined Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wartime cabinet, while in San Francisco for an Asia-Pacific summit.
“Blinken stressed the urgent need for affirmative steps to de-escalate tensions in the West Bank, including by confronting rising levels of settler extremist violence”, said Matthew Miller, State Department spokesman.
Blinken also discussed ongoing talks to liberate hostages kidnapped by Hamas militants during a large foray into Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7.
According to Israeli officials, over 240 persons were taken captive during the Hamas strikes, which killed approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
Since then, Hamas government officials claim that Israel’s airstrikes and ground offensive have killed around 11,500 people, predominantly civilians, and included thousands of children.
Unlike the Gaza Strip, which is under Hamas authority, the West Bank is mostly under Israeli occupation with limited autonomy provided by the Palestinian Authority, whose officials are enemies of Hamas.
Palestinians in the occupied West Bank allege Israeli settlers have upped their harassment since the war began.
Gantz, a centrist retired general, decided to form a wartime cabinet with Netanyahu, who had retaken power in a coalition with far-right parties that supported the Jewish settlement of the West Bank.
Also read: United Nations says Gaza’s civilians face immediate possibility of starvation amid war
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