Jerusalem, Washington hit back on UN claims of rampant 'settler violence'

Israel’s United Nations envoy told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday the facts regarding violence in Judea and Samaria contradict the “rising settler violence” narrative.

The council held a briefing on Judea and Samaria, as requested by European members Denmark, France, Greece, Latvia and the United Kingdom, collectively known as the “E5.”

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The briefing was purportedly to condemn the alleged rise of violence by Jewish residents in the region, which the United Nations refers to as settlers.

“This May, there were 348 Palestinian terrorist attacks in Judea and Samaria. Eight pipe bomb attacks, 282 stone-throwing incidents, 32 fire bomb attacks, 24 arson incidents and two serious car ramming attacks,” said Danny Danon, Israel’s U.N. ambassador, noting that the high figure was higher than even the 325 recorded attacks in April. Over 400 more attacks were stopped by Israeli security forces preemptively, Danon said.

“How many of you have condemned these terrorist attacks against Jews? None of these numbers were reported by the briefers, and none of these attacks were mentioned by any of you,” he continued. “This is the bias we are confronting today.”

Meanwhile, Danon said Israel is cracking down on attacks by Jews against Palestinians, with 354 investigations opened, 20 indictments filed and 35 residents arrested through the first quarter of this year.

“This has led to a decrease in extremist violence,” said Danon. “That is why calling it ‘settler violence’ is a provocation. It denies our connection to the land of Israel. It distracts from constant terrorist attacks against Israelis and it collectively labels entire innocent communities for the crimes of the marginal extremist minority.

He drew attention to the flow of Iranian weapons and funding into Judea and Samaria, and the Palestinian Authority’s dishonesty about its so-called pay-for-slay program, which rewards terrorists on a sliding scale based on the severity of their crimes.

“The Palestinian Authority is supposed to help us to mitigate this problem,” said Danon, while the U.S. State Department told Congress that the Palestinian Authority continues to administer the program, even as Ramallah said it was converted into a broader social welfare initiative.

Washington’s representative on Tuesday said that the United States “appreciates the Israeli government’s condemnation of, and the increased actions to counter, violence in” Judea and Samaria.

“Israel has taken specific steps, such as increasing law enforcement actions, to boosting the IDF presence and to allocating significant financial resources to counter the violence,” said Jennifer Locetta, U.S. alternative representative for special political affairs.

She doubled down on Danon’s pay-for-slay criticism, telling the council that Washington “will not accept compensation for terrorism under the guise of ‘welfare’ or through any other attempts to evade detection under a different name.”

But, Locetta took a veiled shot at Israel’s approval this week of the advancement of plans to build housing units in areas between northern Jerusalem and the P.A. cities of Ramallah and el-Bireh.

“The United States reiterates its opposition to annexation,” in the area, she said.

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