US ambassador to Israel says US ‘perplexed’ over settlements

“First, for Israel, we are concerned and perplexed by Israel’s strategy on settlements”, USA ambassador Daniel Shapiro said at the annual conference of the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.

Israeli troops shot and wounded a Palestinian teenager who stabbed a pregnant Israeli woman in the occupied West Bank on Monday, amid signs of Palestinians stepping up attacks against Israelis inside Jewish settlements.

As the hunt was under way, another stabbing occurred on a street in a separate West Bank settlement, wounding a 30-year-old pregnant woman identified as Michal Froman. He said Israel restricts Palestinian economic development in the West Bank and, despite its recent indictment against the suspects in a deadly arson attack against a Palestinian family, has provided an inadequate response to settler violence.

Shapiro emphasized the US government stance that a two-state solution is the best solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Mr Shapiro said United States criticism doesn’t single out Israel.

The report said Israeli businesses have a larger impact on the West Bank than the actual settlements, operating in around 20 industrial zones that heavily use natural resources like land, water and minerals, diverting them from Palestinians in the West Bank.

The U.S. ambassador to Israel criticized Monday Israel’s settlement building in the West Bank, charging it raises concerns about Israel’s intentions of achieving peace with the Palestinians.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Office quickly issued its response: “Israel enforces the law against Israelis and Palestinians”, the statement said.

“Israel applies the law to Israelis and Palestinians”.

In his second public questioning of Israeli policy in as many weeks, Shapiro on Monday accused Israel of unjust treatment of the Palestinians.

For its part, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on Tuesday echoed HRW’s call for businesses to cease operations in Israeli settlements.

Since October 1, at least 160 Palestinians and 25 Israelis have been killed in the violence.

Palestinians gather in front of Israeli policemen to demonstrate against the confiscation of their land in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh near Ramallah, September 4, 2015. He blamed the Palestinian Authority for refusing to resume peace talks. Israel’s government has already come under pressure over the spate of attacks and Sunday’s killing provoked fresh outrage.

The State Department has also expressed concerns over Israel’s controversial NGO bill,rejecting comparisons between the Israeli proposal requiring registration of foreign-funded NGOs and US laws registering foreign interest lobbyists.

This week, the European Union reiterated that it would continue to differentiate between Israel and the settlements, yet stopped short of explicitly calling for a “distinction”.