US condemns Israeli minister's 'repugnant' call

The Biden government has condemned Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's call for a Palestinian village to be wiped out as "repugnant". US State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters that the call amounts to incitement to violence and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must publicly deny it. An ultranationalist in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's extremist coalition said Wednesday the Palestinian village of Huwara should be "wiped out." The comments came days after extremist settlers rioted in occupied West Bank villages, setting dozens of homes and cars on fire. "I think the village of Huwara must be wiped out. I think the State of Israel should do it," Smotrich was quoted as saying by Israeli media.

Price told reporters that Smotrich's comments "were irresponsible. They were repulsive. They were disgusting." Hundreds of armed Israeli settlers attacked Huwara and surrounding villages on Sunday evening, setting dozens of houses and cars on fire. They were angered by the killing of two Israeli brothers by a Palestinian gunman in Huwara. One Palestinian was killed in the attacks and at least 390 were injured. Palestinian media reported stabbings and attacks with metal bars and stones. Israeli rights groups Peace Now and B'Tselem have described the incident as "persecution" by settlers backed by the occupying regime.

Israeli forces often fail to prevent settler raids and rarely blame perpetrators for such atrocities. Attacks on Palestinians have escalated since late December 2022, when Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power as prime minister of the occupation regime's most far-right cabinet in history. Israeli forces have carried out three large-scale raids on Palestinian cities since the new Israeli cabinet took office late last year, including one in Nablus late last month, resulting in the highest Palestinian death toll in a single Israeli military operation since 2005.