The US State Department has said it was deeply concerned by increasing violence in the occupied West Bank, urging Israel and the Palestinians to “take urgent action” for de-escalation.
“The United States is deeply concerned by the increased violence in the West Bank,” US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Wednesday.
"We convey profound condolences to the families and loved ones of the Israeli and Palestinian civilians, including children, who have been killed in the past 48 hours," Price said in a statement.
The spokesperson further condemned an attack that killed three Israelis and wounded three others in the northern West Bank settlement of Ariel.
Price also shed light on the incident in which Israeli forces shot and killed a 15-year-old Palestinian girl during a pre-dawn raid in the West Bank on Monday.
Fulla Masalmeh, 15, was shot dead by the Israeli forces near Ramallah.
The United Nations coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Tor Wennesland, described it as “a tragic killing”, saying “this requires an immediate and thorough investigation into her death."
“The recent period has seen a sharp and alarming increase in Palestinian and Israeli deaths and injuries, including numerous children. It is vital that the parties take urgent action to prevent further loss of life," Price continued.
Israel is bracing for increased escalation in the West Bank.
Israeli security forces have stepped up their level of alert in the West Bank following the Ariel attack.
The Israeli army issued orders to the West Bank Military Division to raise the state of alert among the forces during the next 72 hours, in anticipation of more operations.
Some Israeli media claimed that - according to Palestinian security officers - Hamas stands behind the social media campaigns documenting a stabbing video because it seeks to undermine confidence in the Palestinian Authority and its popular legitimacy.
The PA managed during the past three weeks to de-escalate tension in the region, especially in Nablus.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz said that the wave that began last March “is no longer really a wave, but seems like a kind of new reality, which is likely to be long-term.”
“There are ups and downs in the extent of the violence, but the violence itself is now almost a permanent fact, even if it doesn’t reach the dimensions of a third intifada. There is never total quiet in the West Bank. There is permanent friction,” Haaretz added.
Israel has killed 198 Palestinians this year, including 146 in the West Bank. Palestinians have killed 29 Israelis, the highest toll since 2005.
In March, Israel launched the Waves Breaker operation in the West Bank following a series of Palestinian attacks against Israelis.
