The United States wants Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to publicly condemn a siege imposed by Jewish settlers in a Palestinian village, US and Israeli officials said on Friday, as settlers pressured residents by pitching a new tent before Israeli soldiers arrived and it was taken down.
Settlers have been besieging homes in Qusra in the occupied West Bank for almost a week, trapping Palestinians in an area where rights groups say settlers are mounting a concerted effort to seize more land, further eating into territory where Palestinians aim to establish a state.
The siege has drawn public US criticism: the US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee — a strong supporter of Jewish settlement in the West Bank — on Thursday condemned settlers besieging a Palestinian home as “Israeli terrorists.”
A US official and an Israeli official said on Friday White House officials are pressing Netanyahu to publicly condemn the siege.
Washington began to protest after learning that the home of a Palestinian-American was among those under siege, said the two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe sensitive discussions, of which they had knowledge.
Netanyahu has not commented on the siege in Qusra. Neither his office nor the White House immediately responded to requests for comment.
France on Friday called on Israel to arrest and prosecute rogue settlers blockading Palestinian homes at Qusra in the occupied West Bank and to protect the civilian population.
“France condemns in the strongest possible terms the occupation of several Palestinian homes in the village of Qusra in the West Bank by Israeli settlers, as well as the acts of violence committed against Palestinian civilians,” the foreign ministry said.
“It calls on the Israeli authorities to arrest and bring to justice those responsible for these acts.”
The West Bank is home to some three million Palestinians and 500,000 settlers. There are some 146 settlements in the West Bank, as well as 390 smaller outposts, according to the Israeli settlement watchdog group Peace Now.
