LONDON (AP) — A group of European nations on Saturday expressed “serious concern” that recent violence in the West Bank will sabotage efforts to resume the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, calling on both sides to remain calm.
The United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain condemned in a joint statement attacks against Israelis and Palestinians after an outbreak of violence that left three people dead in the city of Hawara, in the occupied West Bank.
“These acts only increase the violence. Those responsible must face the legal consequences of their actions,” the statement said. “All unilateral actions that threaten peace, as well as incitement to violence, must cease.”
Dozens of Israeli settlers attacked Hawara on February 26, burning cars and homes after a Palestinian militant killed two settlers. Palestinian medical personnel said a man had been killed and four others injured in one of the worst outbreaks of settler violence in decades.
The violence took place the same day that Israeli and Palestinian representatives, as well as US, Egyptian and Jordanian officials met in Aqaba, Jordan, for the first high-level talks aimed at reducing tensions in the region.
The attacks challenged a statement issued after the talks in which Palestinian and Israeli officials reaffirmed their commitment to “defusing on the ground” and the need to prevent further violence.
Tensions in the West Bank have intensified in recent months. Near-daily Israeli raids to make arrests have led to shootings that have claimed more than 60 Palestinian lives so far this year.
Hawara, a town of 7,000 Palestinians surrounded by ideological Jewish settlements, has long been the scene of violence.
The six European nations said “the recent meeting in Aqaba brought a glimmer of hope”, urging the parties to seek a lasting peace based on the two-state solution.
“We urge the parties to prevent this fragile process from being derailed and we call on them to honor the commitments made at the Aqaba meeting, seeking to defuse both word and deed to restore calm, so that those efforts may bear fruit,” the statement said.
They also urged the Israeli government to reverse a recent decision allowing the construction of more than 7,000 new homes in the West Bank and to legalize other settlements.