AMMAN — During their recent visit to Israel, officials from
the
US administration have issued a warning about the detrimental
impact of Israel's current policy in the West Bank on the bilateral relations between the
two countries. Specifically, they highlighted the potential damage caused by
the
Israeli government's endorsement of random settlement outposts and its
failure to curb
settler attacks against Palestinians.
اضافة اعلان
According to American officials, this not only jeopardizes
Israel's relations with Gulf states and the possibility of
normalization with Saudi Arabia but also hinders Israeli-American cooperation, including Israel's
entry into the US visa waiver program, Amad reported.
Exempting only its citizens alone would not suffice
The US officials emphasized that
Israel's compliance with American conditions for exempting its citizens from entry visas alone would not
suffice. The practices of Israel in the
West Bank hold significant weight in
determining the decision in this regard. The US expressed great concern over
settler attacks on Palestinians, including those holding American citizenship.
Not effective in preventing settler terrorism
Furthermore, the American officials underscored that Israeli
security forces do not effectively prevent settler terrorism, which Israel
itself refers to as "national crimes." They also highlighted the lack
of adequate legal action taken against those responsible for such assaults,
despite statements from coalition ministers and
Knesset members supporting these attacks.
In particular, the American officials drew attention to the
settler violence in the town of Turmus Ayya, where settlers attacked
Palestinians, resulting in the burning of numerous houses and cars. Recently, a
delegation from the US administration visited
Turmus Ayya, as many of its
residents are American citizens, to assess the consequences of
settler attacks.
The American officials also met with officials from the Palestinian Authority
during their visit.
Furthermore, the US expressed its anger over the lack of
prosecution of Israeli soldiers involved in the killing of 80-year-old
Palestinian Omar Asaad, who held American citizenship. The
Israeli military prosecution justified the closure of the investigation against the soldiers by
claiming that there was no established causal relationship between the
soldiers' misconduct and Asaad's death.
As a result, the United States demanded clarifications from
Israel, with a spokesperson from the US State Department stating that they had
expected a thorough criminal investigation and full accountability.
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