Major General Yehuda Fox on Wednesday met with the elected officials of Binyamin Regional Council and reassured them that as far as he is concerned, the accusations regarding settler violence are libelous.
“99% percent of the hilltop youths do no harm to anyone, neither the army nor anyone else. There is no such concept as ‘settler violence.’ I’ve been saying this on numerous occasions. There are violent incidents in all kinds of places around the country,” Fox reiterated.
Just for fun, I plugged “settler violence” in the White House “Briefing Room” section and discovered a whole bunch. At least now we can report decisively that none of the biased and borderline-antisemitic statements below were based on reports from the IDF Major General who is in charge of the liberated territories in Judea and Samaria.
Remarks by President Biden and President Abbas of the Palestinian National Authority in Joint Press Statement | Bethlehem, West Bank, July 15, 2022
We look forward to these efforts to stop settlement and settler violence; and respect of the historical situation in the Islamic and Christian holy sites and the Hashemite custodianship; and stopping the expulsion of Palestinians, demolishing houses, homes, and storming the cities, villages, and camps; and stopping the daily killing and arrests on daily basis; and holding the killers of the martyr journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh — they need to be held accountable.
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby, February 27, 2023:
Q: We have seen another wave of violence this morning, as you alluded to. Thirty houses of Palestinians have been torched by settlers who are — according to international law, they are illegal in these — in the settlements. So how do you —
MR. KIRBY: Well, our position on settlements is — stays consistent. I mean, nothing has changed about that. We — we view the expansion of settlements as an obstacle to peace. We’ve been very clear about that.
And as I said in my opening statement, the violence we saw over the weekend is — is just another example of why it’s important that we get both sides together to work on ways to de-escalate. … And you saw very swiftly, coming out of the Israeli side, condemning Israeli citizens who were, as I said in my opening statement, taking the law into their hands. That was — their law in their own hands. That was not an insignificant statement on their part.
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby, November 07, 2023
Q You talked about settlers’ violence in the West Bank. The President spoke about it. But there’s also violence by the Israeli army. There is many Palestinians who have been shot dead in the West Bank. It’s 163 since October 7th. There’s also been massive arrests. It is 1,350 have been arrested under what the Israeli called an “administrative detention,” i.e., they can arrest a person without a trial.
So, is this something that concerns you? Is it something that you convey to the Israelis, considering the situation in Gaza?
MR. KIRBY: Yes.
Readout of National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s Call with Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi, June 23, 2023
Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Jake Sullivan spoke with Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi on June 23. Sullivan extended sincere condolences to the Israeli people for the June 20 terrorist attack by Hamas that killed four Israeli civilians in the West Bank. He underscored the Administration’s unwavering support for Israel’s security, as well as its right to defend its people against Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist groups. Sullivan also expressed deep concern over the recent extremist settler attacks against Palestinian civilians and the destruction of their property in the West Bank. He reiterated the importance of holding accountable those responsible for such acts of violence.
Sullivan encouraged additional steps to restore calm and de-escalate tensions, and called on all parties to refrain from unilateral actions, including settlement activity, that further inflame tensions. Sullivan conveyed the United States’ hope that the parties build on the commitments made during talks at Aqaba, Jordan and Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt and reconvene soon.
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby, June 23, 2023
Q — settlers’ violence against Palestinians, including American Palestinians — as you know, in many villages in the West Bank, their houses have been burned down to the ground. Your own ambassador said that we cannot stand by and watch. So what does it mean? What practically — how does the White House translate this?
MR. KIRBY: Well, look, we’ve seen — we’ve certainly seen reports now of U.S. citizens at risk and potential victims here — actually vic- — having become victims of some of the — the violence. And we’re actively engaging with the government of Israel about that.
Several U.S. government officials visited the West Bank and met with the victims of this violence in a place called Turmus Ayya. I hope I’m pronouncing that right. And consular officials have been providing assistance to U.S. citizens as requested. So we’ll continue to stand ready to do that.
Look, I’ll say it again for the “I don’t know how many-eth” time: We condemn all acts of violence. We certainly extend our condolences to the families of those that were affected, and we wish a speedy recovery for those that were injured.
But the violence isn’t helping reduce the tensions at all. And we — and when you have a situation like this, leadership is really required — leadership on both sides — to stop the violence and to be demonstrable in doing so, so that the tensions can be — can be turned down. And that’s what we want to see.
