US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Riley Barnes and US Ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch, visit the Christian Palestinian village of Taybeh near Ramallah, a day after Israeli militant settlers attacked a French mayor and European diplomats during olive harvest, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Despite the incidents, Israeli authorities had not announced any arrests by Sunday.
Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar and the Israeli military (IDF) blamed “Israeli rioters” for Saturday’s attack on the diplomats. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the diplomats had entered a “sensitive area with a history of confrontations without prior coordination with the IDF”. He also said the facts of the attack on Levine were “unclear”.
The US diplomats’ visit also coincided with US President Donald Trump endorsing Netanyahu, his ally, for Israel’s parliamentary election on October 27. Violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians has been rising, with at least 170 attacks recorded since September 27, according to Israeli human rights group Yesh Din. Trump has opposed settlement expansion this year. However, his administration has put little pressure on Netanyahu’s right-wing, pro-settler government to change its policy. Journalists, activists and foreign observers have also been targeted. Prosecutions of Israeli settlers remain rare.