US Special Representative condemns Israeli settler rampage in Hawara

US Special Representative Hady Amr inspecting a burnt house in Hawara. (WAFA)
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Updated 28 February 2023
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US Special Representative condemns Israeli settler rampage in Hawara

  • Hady Amr calls for prosecutions over ‘heinous’ attacks and compensation for Palestinians

NABLUS: US Special Representative Hady Amr has condemned “indiscriminate” violence by settlers and called for prosecutions as he visited a West Bank town where rampaging Israelis set ablaze dozens of cars and homes.

Amr visited Hawara on Tuesday to express his deepest condolences to the family of a Palestinian killed in the attacks earlier this week, Palestine News and Info Agency reported.

He condemned the “unacceptable wide scale, indiscriminate violence by settlers.”

“We want to see full accountability and legal prosecution of those responsible for these heinous attacks and compensation for those who lost property or were otherwise affected,” said Amr after inspecting the damage done in the Palestinian town,” Amr added.

Ned Price, a State Department spokesman, said on Monday that the US was “extremely concerned by the continuing violence in Israel and the West Bank. 

“It is imperative Israel and the Palestinians work together to de-escalate tensions and restore calm. Israelis and Palestinians deserve equally to live in safety and security.”

He said that the US would “continue to work with Israelis and Palestinians and our regional partners towards restoring calm.”

Fatah Deputy Chairman Mahmoud Aloul, who also went to Hawara with Amr, said Palestinians must be protected and the aggression of settlers must be brought to an end. 

“The main loss is the terror experienced by the people, especially women and children, as a result of the attacks carried out by the settlers, and the setting fire to their homes and properties, and this is an unprecedented psychological loss,” said Aloul. 

“We are counting on the role of the US administration to stop the violence in the region.”

Mueen Dmeidi, the mayor of Hawara, called the attacks on his town unprecedented, adding that he believed they were carried out under the protection of the Israeli army.


Kurdish official says Kurds committed to deals with Damascus despite Aleppo violence

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Kurdish official says Kurds committed to deals with Damascus despite Aleppo violence

  • Ahmad said that “we are committed to peace and to resolving problems through dialogue”
  • She accused Syria’s authorities of “choosing the path of war” by attacking Kurdish districts in Aleppo

BEIRUT: Syria’s Kurds are committed to agreements reached with the government, a senior official from their administration told AFP on Friday, despite days of violence in the northern city of Aleppo.
The government and Kurdish forces have traded blame over who started the fighting on Tuesday, which came as they have struggled to implement a deal reached last March to merge the Kurds’ administration and military into the country’s new government.
Elham Ahmad, a senior official in the Kurdish administration in Syria’s northeast, said that “we are committed to peace and to resolving problems through dialogue. But until now, the government... does not want a solution.”
She accused Syria’s authorities of “choosing the path of war” by attacking Kurdish districts in Aleppo.
“With these attacks, the government side is seeking to put an end to the agreements that have been reached. We are committed to them and we are seeking to implement them,” she said.
The government announced a truce early Friday after days of deadly violence that has forced thousands to flee, and granted Kurdish fighters a deadline to leave two districts they control.
But the fighters were refusing to leave the Ashrafiyeh and Sheikh Maqsud areas and intended to “resist” the Syrian army encircling them, a statement by the local councils of the two neighborhoods said.
Ahmad said that “the United States is playing a mediating role... we hope they will apply pressure to reach an agreement.”
A diplomatic source told AFP on Friday that US envoy Tom Barrack was headed to Damascus.