US summons Israeli ambassador as law restraining settlers rescinded
After condemning anti-Palestinian statements by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the State Department slammed the Israeli government over rolling back parts of the 2005 disengagement law.
The Biden administration summoned on Tuesday Israel's ambassador Michael Herzog to express its displeasure over a law that would allow illegal settlement outposts in key areas of the occupied West Bank that were evacuated in 2005.
US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman conveyed to Herzog the administration’s concern regarding the newly adopted legislation. The State Department offered no other details on the conversation, but the Israeli press stressed that such a meeting is highly unusual between the two countries, reflecting a degradation of relations between the Biden administration and the Netanyahu government.
Earlier on Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said Washington was “extremely troubled” by the new legislation, calling it “provocative” for violating commitments given to the United States by two Israeli governments, under Ariel Sharon and Netanyahu's current one. “We call on Israel to refrain from allowing settlers to return to the area,” said the spokesperson.
But on Wednesday, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clarified that Israel will not establish new settlements in the northern West Bank.
