Renewed wave of violence between Palestinians and Israelis breaks out in West Bank

Amna Nawaz:

The renewed wave of violence and vengeance between Israelis and Palestinians continued today, as a Palestinian gunman killed a motorist near the city of Jericho on the occupied West Bank.

The U.S. ambassador to Israel said the victim was an American, though the man has yet to be identified. The killing comes amid intensified conflict in Nablus and the town of Hawara also on the West Bank.

It is a dark new chapter in an old conflict, punctuated by the worst violence in decades. Overnight, Israeli settlers rampaged through the Palestinian town of Hawara, torching dozens of homes and cars. Daylight revealed the extent of the damage, blackened buildings and burnt-out vehicles.

Jood Abusarees, Palestinian Resident (through translator):

At night, settlers attacked us. I saw them. When they burned the car, my mother went down with a bucket of water to put out the fire.

Sultan Farouk Abu Sris, Palestinian Resident (through translator):

They burned the container, burned the warehouses, burned the storehouse for electrical appliances, and destroyed the house.

Amna Nawaz:

These attacks were retaliation after a Palestinian gunman killed two Israeli brothers in a nearby Jewish settlement. Thousands of mourners attended their funerals today in Jerusalem, their mother grief-stricken.

Woman (through translator):

Two loved ones, my sons, my loved sons, who walk in the path of God, for them, I cry. We have suffered a rupture and there is no one to console us.

Amna Nawaz:

Just days earlier, an Israeli army raid targeting militants in Nablus killed 11 Palestinians. This latest spasm of violence is showing no signs of abating. Israel is now deploying hundreds more troops to the West Bank.

Khaled Elgindy, Middle East Institute:

We have seen over the past several years a gradual increase in the number and intensity of settler terrorism against Palestinians.

Amna Nawaz:

Khaled Elgindy is a senior fellow with the Middle East Institute. He says settler violence in the West Bank isn't new, but has become more radical.

Khaled Elgindy:

This is happening within the context of Israeli politics that have steadily moved more and more to the right. When you have this convergence of the state power, combined with the very strong ideological extremism of settlers on the ground, it is a recipe for escalating violence.

Amna Nawaz:

Israel's ultranationalist public security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, called today for an end to vigilantism. A settler himself, he spoke during the eviction of settlers from an illegal outpost on the occupied West Bank.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israeli National Security Minister (through translator):

I understand the hard feelings, but this isn't the way. You can't take the law into your hands. Israel's government, the state of Israel, IDF, the security forces, they are the ones who need to crush our enemies.

Amna Nawaz:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu echoed those same sentiments yesterday.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister (through translator):

I ask that, even when the blood is boiling and the spirit is hot, not to take the law into your hands. I would like to let the IDF and the security forces do their job.

Amna Nawaz:

But the recent wave of clashes is exposing divisions in Israel's new right-wing government and fanning tensions.

Zvika Fogel, a lawmaker from the ruling coalition, said rampages like the one this past weekend could deter further Palestinian attacks.

Dennis Ross, Former U.S. Envoy to Middle East: When there are those who say this enhances deterrence, that is actually the equivalent of incitement.

Amna Nawaz:

Dennis Ross was a Middle East peace negotiator in both Republican and Democratic administrations. He is now a distinguished fellow at the Washington Institute.

Dennis Ross:

I think there are rifts within the Israeli government. The prime minister is calling very clearly that: We are a state of laws. There has to be law and order.

But it's interesting that it took Ben-Gvir so long to say anything about that. And that's why I say I see the difficulty, I see the challenge that Prime Minister Netanyahu faces. He's got a government that is a very difficult government, probably more difficult than any one he's ever had to manage before.

Amna Nawaz:

Ross also lays blame for the uptick in violence on Palestinian leaders.

Dennis Ross:

Part of the problem with the Palestinian Authority is, it has almost no credibility with the Palestinian public. It's a result of dysfunction. It's a result of great corruption.

It's basically loss of faith in it. If there was to be a serious effort at political and economic reform which would also produce law and order, I think you would see the ability to get greater control over the current situation as well.

Amna Nawaz:

The weekend's violence broke out shortly after top Israeli and Palestinian envoys met in Jordan to discuss how to curb violence ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

They issued a joint communique that — quote — "reaffirmed the necessity of committing to de-escalation on the ground and to prevent further violence." Israel also agreed to halt discussions of new settlement units in the West Bank for four months.

Khaled Elgindy:

The fact that the Palestinians were able to get an Israeli leaders to commit to anything along those lines is an achievement, in and of itself.

But there is almost no hope of it being implemented on the ground. And that's, frankly, a responsibility of the international community to compel Israel in some form to abide by these commitments.

Amna Nawaz:

Israeli forces have killed at least 62 Palestinians so far this year.

During that same time, Palestinian attacks have killed 14 Israelis. The U.S. is pushing for an end to the bloodshed.

State Department spokesman Ned Price:

Ned Price, State Department Spokesman:

These events underscore the fragility of the situation in the West Bank and the urgent need for increased cooperation to prevent further violence.

Amna Nawaz:

But divisions within the Israeli government and increasing Palestinian despair cast doubt on whether they will answer that call.