US condemns Israeli order on West Bank settler outpost. The Biden administration chastised Israel for allowing Jewish settlers to settle in a West Bank enclave Washington had cautioned Jerusalem not to legitimize.
According to the Times of Israel, the Israeli military’s Central Command chief signed an order on Thursday allowing Israelis to enter the Homesh outpost region, enabling a formal settlement.
The State Department has frequently cautioned Israel not to formalize settlement outposts, which inflame Palestinian-Israeli relations, including Homesh.
“We are deeply troubled by the Israeli government’s order that allows its citizens to establish a permanent presence in the Homesh outpost in the northern West Bank, which according to Israeli law was illegally built on private Palestinian land,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
Miller said the order violates Israeli government promises made in 2004 and to Biden administration officials.
Israel’s Washington embassy didn’t immediately respond.
An anonymous Israeli official said the order was meant to allow Israelis to continue attending a Homesh religious school and that the government has no plans to rebuild the colony or authorize Israeli presence on private Palestinian land.
After months of Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Washington chastised its biggest Middle East ally.
On Sunday, Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a member of a far-right cabinet that took power in December, visited the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, known as Temple Mount by Jews and Muslims, and declared Israe” “in charge.”
Miller said Washington was concerned about the” “provocative vis”t” an” “accompanying inflammatory rhetoric.”
“This holy space should not be used for political purposes, and we call on all parties to respect its sanctity,” he added, reiterating the U.S. view that Jerusalem’s holy sites should remain unchanged.
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