The US State Department used the same language to describe the Palestinian terror attack in Tel Aviv and Israeli settlers’ deadly attack on a Palestinian in recent days.
The State Department Near Eastern Affairs account on Twitter sent two statements within seconds about the weekend’s violence.
“We strongly condemn [Friday’s] terror attack by Israeli extremist settlers that killed a 19-year-old Palestinian,” the State Department wrote first. “The US extends our deepest sympathies to his family [and] loved ones. We note Israeli officials have made several arrests and we urge full accountability and justice.”
Immediately after, the State Department added: “We strongly condemn [Saturday's] terrorist attack in Tel Aviv that killed 1 [and] wounded 2 others, as well as other recent terrorist attacks against Israelis. We express our deepest condolences to the victims’ families [and] call for an end to these acts of violence [and] incitement to violence.”
Clashes in Oz Zion
Residents of the Oz Zion outpost clashed with Palestinians who tried to stop Israeli shepherds from grazing their flock on Palestinian land, the IDF said. The verbal disagreement escalated into stone-throwing, followed by fireworks and gunfire, and one Palestinian, 19-year-old Kodak Ma’atan, was killed, and another four were injured. Israeli authorities arrested two suspects, Yehiel Indore and Elisha Yered, a former spokesperson for Otzma Yehudit MK Limor Son Har-Melech, and detained five others. A joint police, IDF and Shin Bet investigation is ongoing.
A Palestinian terrorist shot and killed a Tel Aviv security inspector, Chen Amir, 42, at the Nahalat Binyamin pedestrian mall in the city, later on Saturday. Amir left behind a wife and three daughters, and his family donated his organs.
The shooter, 22-year-old Kamal Abu Ahmed, opened fire after the security guards thought he was suspicious and tried to question him. Another guard killed Abu Ahmed after he shot Amir. Abu Ahmed Was a member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad and had been wanted by Israeli authorities for the past six months for terrorist activity in Jenin.
Binyamin Regional Council head Israel Gantz said it was unfortunate that the State Department had chosen to conflate an act of self-defense with a nationalistically motivated crime.
“To call it a terror attack is very far from the truth,” he said.
German Ambassador to Israel Steffen Seibert drew a similar equivalence to the State Department.
“A weekend of terrible violence,” Seibert tweeted. “My thoughts are with the family of the officer killed by a Palestinian terrorist in the middle of Tel Aviv. Also saddened by yesterday‘s killing of a young Palestinian in the West Bank, allegedly by settlers. The truth must be investigated.”
UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland tweeted that he condemns the attack in Tel Aviv and rejects terrorism, but he “strongly condemn[ed] the deplorable acts of settler violence,” in a separate tweet.
Former US ambassador to Israel Tom Nides, who left his position last month, courted controversy in June by drawing an equivalence between terrorists and victims of terror.
Nides tweeted hours after a terrorist attack outside Eli, in which two Palestinian terrorists murdered four Israelis, and days after a raid on the homes of terrorists in Jenin, in which five Palestinians were killed.
“Deeply concerned about the civilian deaths and injuries that have occurred in the West Bank these past 48 hours, including that of minors,” Nides tweeted. “Praying for the families as they mourn the loss of loved ones, or tend to those injured.”
Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.