"Too much Israeli vigilantism in the West Bank goes on unchecked…there is a lack of thorough investigations… at times it seems Israel has two standards of adherence to rule of law in the West Bank - one for Jews and one for Palestinians."
Above: US Ambassador Dan Shapiro at a haredi wedding in 2013
US Ambassador To Israel Points To Double Standard Of Justice In The West Bank
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
Speaking at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) conference in Tel Aviv earlier today, United States Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro issued what Ha’aretz called “nearly unprecedented criticism” of Israel’s West Bank settlements. While he praised Israel’s recent progress into solving the hate crime arson-murders of a Palestinian baby and his sleeping parents in the West Bank Palestinian village of Douma (Duma) in July – murders allegedly committed by extremist Jewish settlers – Shapiro lashed out at Israel’s overall lack of law enforcement against Jewish settlers.
"Too much Israeli vigilantism in the West Bank goes on unchecked…there is a lack of thorough investigations… at times it seems Israel has two standards of adherence to rule of law in the West Bank - one for Jews and one for Palestinians,” Shapiro said. He went on to say the two-state solution is the only way to stop Israel from turning into a single bi-national state. The US Administration is "concerned and perplexed" over Israel’s policy on the settlements "which raise questions about Israeli intentions [with regard to the two-state solution],” Shapiro said.
TIn return, the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Office lashed out at Shapiro's statements.
“The ambassador's statements, on the day when a mother of six who was murdered is buried, and on a day when a pregnant woman is stabbed – are unacceptable and wrong. Israel enforces the law on Israelis and Palestinians. The onus for the stalemate in the diplomatic process is the Palestinian Authority, which continues to incite and refuses negotiations," the Prime Minister's Office said.
However there is much evidence of the Israeli government’s lack of enforcement of the law against Jewish settlers and for its tolerance of settler hate crimes and vigilantism. Indeed, it was sharp US criticism of Israel for that laxity in protecting religious minorities from settler hate crimes issued in 2014 that appears to have prompted Israel to make some minor efforts to stop them. Before that, the settler hate crimes went largely unchecked.