Letter to David Friedman, US Ambassador to Israel - Haaland, Members of Congress Call on US Ambassador to Israel to Condemn All Acts of Violence in the West Bank

Letter

Dear Mr. Ambassador:
We are supporters of the security and safety of Israelis and Palestinians writing to express
concern with reports of acts of violence perpetrated against Palestinians living in the West Bank
by residents of Israeli settlements. We ask you to join us in strongly condemning all acts of
violence, whether perpetrated against Israelis or Palestinians.
According to Israeli media, Israeli human rights experts and the United Nations, there has been a
sharp increase in these violent acts as both Israeli and Palestinian authorities have necessarily
refocused their efforts on combating the COVID-19 pandemic and implementing containment
measures like shut downs and curfews. Incidents of violence against Palestinians committed by
settlers increased 78% in the last two weeks of March. These acts include physical assault,
uprooting of Palestinian-owned olive trees, and stoning of vehicles driven by Palestinians. The
rise in attacks is being attributed by UN officials and Israeli security services partially to school
closures at settlements in the West Bank. As both Israelis and Palestinians are methodically
combating the spread of COVID-19, any increase in violence between Israelis and Palestinians
only makes it more difficult to address the growing public health crisis.
This spike amid the Coronavirus pandemic follows on already significant increases in settler
violence against Palestinians over the last two years. As reported by the New York Times,
"attacks by settlers on Palestinians and their property... increased by 50 percent" in 2018. In
2019, documented incidents of violence against Palestinians rose another 40%. During this same
time period, the UN recorded a steady decrease in the number of incidents committed by
Palestinians against settlement residents - attacks which Congress has rightly and repeatedly
condemned.
As supporters of the safety and security of Israelis and Palestinians, we grieve for each family
that has suffered harm or lost a loved one to this conflict. There is no doubt that such incidents,
in addition to causing tragic suffering, harm the prospects for a negotiated two-state solution to
the conflict that is in each of Israel's, the Palestinians' and US interests. We believe the United
States must condemn all acts of violence that pull us further away from peace and should make
its condemnation clear whether the victim is Israeli or Palestinian. We therefore urge you to
urgently and publicly speak out against settler violence and work with relevant Israeli authorities
to address both the spike in attacks during the Coronavirus crisis and the overall surge in such
violence in the past two years.
We look forward to hearing from you on this matter as soon as possible.