After warning of ‘settler violence’, Blinken condemns Hadera Islamic attack
After warning of “settler violence” as a source of tension and danger during the upcoming Muslim month of Ramadan, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned an Islamic terror attack in the Israeli city of Hadera on Sunday night in which two Israelis were murdered and another 12 were injured by two apparent Islamic State (ISIS) supporters.
Photo credit: Koby Gideon (GPO)
In comments during a joint press conference in Jerusalem with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Sunday, Blinken said that they discussed “ways to foster a peaceful Passover, Ramadan, and Easter across Israel, and Gaza and the West Bank, particularly in Jerusalem, a city of such profound importance to Jews, to Christians, to Muslims.”
“And that means working to prevent actions on all sides that could raise tensions, including settlement expansion, settler violence, incitement to violence, demolitions, payments to individuals convicted of terrorism, evictions of families from homes they’ve lived in for decades – it’s a message that I’ll be underscoring in all of my meetings on this trip,” he declared.
Hours after his inflammatory accusations toward about half a million Jews living in Judea and Samaria, two Islamic terrorists shot and murdered two Israelis and wounded another 12 in the northern city of Hadera.
The US “condemns today’s terrorist attack in Hadera, Israel. Such senseless acts of violence and murder have no place in society. We stand with our Israeli partners and send our condolences to the families of the victims,” he said after the attack.
Since the beginning of March, Muslim terrorists have carried out nine terrorist attacks across the country, in which Israelis were 25 injured, and six were killed.
Blinken faced heavy criticism from Israeli media for his placing the onus for instability and violence in Israel on “settlement expansion” and “settler violence.”
“Another shocking attack, and Ramadan has not yet begun! Secretary of State Blinken, explain to us what ‘settler violence’ there is in Hadera?” stated Member of Knesset Yomtob Kalfon.
“Islamic terrorism that persecutes Jews and ‘infidels’ all over the world raises its head – a war of attrition must be waged against it, without excuses,” he demanded.
