Tensions escalate again!
The United States of America today expressed condemnation against the killings of two Israeli soldiers in different incidents this weekend.
Today, Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf made a statement condemning the violence in West Bank and added such violence and terror are unacceptable.
She said the violence undermines efforts to establish the positive atmosphere the parties need to progress in peace negotiations for both Palestine and Israel.
“We call on all parties to join in condemning these attacks.” – Ms Harf
An Israeli soldier was shot dead on Sunday during a Jewish festival in the West Bank city of Hebron, a hotbed of tensions where some 500 Israeli settler families live among 100,000 Palestinians.
He was the second Israeli serviceman killed since Friday by suspected Palestinian gunmen as tensions rise in the occupied territory despite a resumption of stalled U.S.-brokered peace talks in July.
Two IDF soldiers killed this weekend
Two Israeli soldiers have been killed since Friday by Palestinian gunmen.
An off-duty IDF Israeli soldier was murdered reportedly at the hands of a Palestinian acquaintance .
The second victim was 20-year-old sargeant Gabriel Koby, who was shot by a sniper while guarding worshippers in Hebron.
Israel captured East Jerusalem along with the West Bank and Gaza in the Six-Day War in 1967, but annexed the city as its united capital in a move not recognized by the international community. The Palestinians want East Jerusalem as capital of their future State.
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have been stalled since late September last year following Israel’s refusal to extend a 10-month freeze on settlement activity. That decision prompted Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to withdraw from direct talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
