Israel's Herzog calls Abbas, condemns settler violence against Palestinians

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog made a rare phone call to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday and addressed the recent assaults by Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians.

A statement issued by the Israeli president's office said that Herzog called Abbas to convey his greetings ahead of the Eid al-Adha holiday, which falls on Wednesday, but also condemned the Israeli violence against Palestinians.

“Herzog emphasized in their conversation the importance of a forceful, persistent war against terror, incitement and hatred and he underscored the horrendous price and pain which terror inflicts upon bereaved families and Israeli society as a whole,” read the statement, adding that the president “further underlined his unequivocal denouncement of the recent assault on innocent Palestinians by extremists.”

The conversation came on the heels of increased violence by settlers across the West Bank. There have been hundreds of attacks against Palestinians since last Tuesday, when two Palestinian gunmen killed four Israelis outside the West Bank settlement of Eli. Hours later, groups of settlers descended on several Palestinian villages and towns including Luban a-Sharqiya, Huwara, Beit Furik and Burin, hurling stones at local residents, vandalizing property and burning cars, fields and homes. On Wednesday, settlers rampaged in the West Bank Palestinian town of Turmus Ayya. Footage circulating on social media showed a group of masked settlers hurling stones at local residents and vandalizing homes.

Also on Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke on the phone with top Palestinian official Hussein Al Sheikh on the recent incidents in the West Bank, including the Eli attack and settler violence. It was the first time Israel has acknowledged such a conversation.

A statement issued by the Defense Ministry quoted Gallant as telling Al Sheikh that Israel “views the violence used by extremist elements against Palestinian citizens in recent days with severity and emphasized that Israel will work to bring the perpetrators to justice.” The statement noted that both men agreed there was a need to calm the atmosphere in the West Bank “for the sake of the Israeli and Palestinian population.” 

Amid the violence, settlers have set up several new wildcat outposts across the West Bank. Speaking at a cabinet meeting on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Jewish settlers not to rush in to claim land there. “Calls to grab land illegally and actions of grabbing land illegally are unacceptable to me. They undermine law and order in Judea and Samaria and must stop immediately,” said Netanyahu. 

Still, the Israeli prime minister did express his support for the settlement enterprise, noting, “These calls and actions do not strengthen settlement — on the contrary, they hurt it. I say this as someone who doubled settlement in Judea and Samaria despite great and unprecedented international pressure to carry out withdrawals that I have not carried out and will not carry out. These calls hurt the vital interests of the State of Israel and they must stop immediately.”