The US ambassador to Israel on Thursday visited a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank to offer his condolences to relatives of a man killed by a Palestinian, a spokeswoman said.
The spokeswoman for the American embassy confirmed that this was ambassador Thomas Nides’ first visit to a settlement since taking up the post in Dec 2021, adding that his “position on settlements is quite clear.”
In a January interview, Nides told the Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot that he would not visit Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank -- widely considered illegal under international law.
Nides was accompanied by Yossi Dagan, the head of the Shomron regional council, which administers Jewish settlements in the northern West Bank.
He was visiting the family of Tamir Avihai, a resident of the Kiryat Netafim settlement and one of three victims killed Tuesday in an attack by a Palestinian in Ariel, one of the largest Israeli settler communities in the occupied Palestinian territory.
He had visited the families of the two other victims earlier, the US embassy said.
A Palestinian man stabbed three Israelis in a settlement in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday before he was shot and killed by Israeli security personnel.
The Israeli military said the Palestinian attacked Israelis at the entrance to the settlement’s industrial zone, then proceeded to a nearby gas station and stabbed more people there, reported The Associated Press. It said the attacker was shot fleeing the scene.
The attack took place a few hours before Israel swore in the most right-wing parliament in its history.
Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu is working to cobble together a far-right and religious governing coalition in the 120-seat parliament, or Knesset.
