The US has sharply criticized an Israeli demand for the "eradication" of the small Palestinian town of Huwara in the West Bank. "These remarks were irresponsible. They were disgusting, they were disgusting," said US State Department spokesman Ned Price on Wednesday (local time) in Washington. Just as the U.S. condemned Palestinian incitement to violence, "we also condemn these provocative statements, which also amount to incitement to violence," he added.

"We call on Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu and other senior Israeli politicians to publicly and unequivocally reject and distance themselves from these statements," Price said. It is now more important than ever that Israelis and Palestinians work together again to de-escalate these tensions and restore the calm that both Israelis and Palestinians deserve.

Finance minister pours oil on the fire

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is also responsible for settlement expansion in the West Bank, had previously said at a conference of the business newspaper "TheMarker": "I think the village of Huwara must be wiped out. I think the State of Israel must do this – for God's sake, not private individuals." A member of parliament from the far-right coalition party Ozma Yehudit had expressly welcomed the riots in Huwara.

On Sunday, a suspected Palestinian bomber shot dead two Israeli brothers in the village south of Nablus. This was followed by serious riots by Israeli settlers near the scene, in which hundreds of Palestinians were injured. Dozens of houses, shops and cars were also set on fire.

According to estimates by the Central Palestinian Bureau of Statistics, around 7400 Palestinians live in Huwara. A central connecting road runs through the small town, which is also used daily by many Israeli settlers in the northern West Bank.

Many deaths in recent weeks

Since the beginning of the year, 13 Israelis and one Ukrainian woman have been killed in Palestinian attacks. During the same period, 63 Palestinians were killed. They were killed, for example, in confrontations with the Israeli army or in their own attacks.

Also last Wednesday, according to Palestinian sources, a Palestinian was killed in an Israeli military operation in the West Bank. The 22-Year-old had been shot in a raid near the city of Jericho, said the Palestinian Ministry of health on Wednesday.

The Israeli army confirmed only one military operation that had taken place as a result of the killing of an Israeli motorist. The driver, who also had US citizenship, was shot dead on Monday near Jericho. In the case of the now completed army operation, four suspects had been arrested, reported the Israeli army. Among them was the "presumably responsible terrorist" for the attack on the motorist.

Israel had conquered the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967. Today, more than 600,000 Israeli settlers live there. The Palestinians claim the territories for a state of their own.