The U.S. finds itself in an increasingly delicate position as it works to continue supporting one of its staunchest allies in Israel while also drawing a firm line in condemning far-right leaders in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government calling for widespread violence against Palestinians.
In response to attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank village of Huwara, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told journalists on Wednesday, “I think the village of Huwara needs to be wiped out. I think the state of Israel should do it.”
Smotrich’s comments, deemed “repugnant” by U.S. Department of State spokesman Ned Price, underscore the immensely fragile nature of the Israel-Palestine conflict, the danger presented to Palestinians, and how decisive a moment it is for President Joe Biden and his administration.
“I want to be very clear about this. These comments were irresponsible. They were repugnant. They were disgusting,” Price told reporters on Wednesday. He also called for Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials to “publicly and clearly” disavow the remarks made by Smotrich, who oversees civil administration in the occupied West Bank.
Price also made clear the U.S.’s public policy toward Israel and Palestine. “Just as we condemn Palestinian incitement to violence, we condemn these provocative remarks that also amount to incitement to violence.”
The violence has ramped up in recent days in the West Bank.
One Palestinian died during the attack on Huwara, which came amid an increase in violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. Last week, Israeli forces killed 11 Palestinians in an invasion of another West Bank city, Nablus. Two Israeli settlers were then killed by a Palestinian gunman on Sunday, and earlier this week, an Israeli-American was also killed in a shooting deep inside the West Bank, per Al Jazeera.
Top U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have spoken out against certain Israeli actions since Netanyahu was reelected as prime minister in December, such as when Blinken said the U.S. was “deeply troubled” by Israel’s decision to legalize nine outposts in the West Bank and turn them into new settlements, a move that had previously been illegal under Israeli law.
However, words, often seen by Palestinian human rights advocates as not harsh enough, are also viewed by these same activists as not nearly as crucial as concrete actions. Americans for Peace Now, a U.S.-based nonprofit whose self-stated goal is to achieve peace in Israel and Palestine, has called for the Biden administration to block Smotrich from entering the U.S. Hundreds of rabbis also reportedly oppose his visit.
This news comes as CNN reported Smotrich is expected to visit Washington, D.C., and New York City in March, though without any planned meetings with Biden administration officials.
Naturally, the president has other foreign affairs occupying his mind, perhaps more than ever before in his time in office. Russia continues its aggressive invasion of Ukraine, and Biden faces both calls to increase military aid to Kyiv in its resolute defense (namely in F-16 aircraft) and, conversely, demands to limit assistance sent to the Eastern European country. Even more pressing, in some lawmakers’ minds, is the threat posed by China, especially as Blinken has noted intelligence that points to China “strongly considering” sending its own military support to Russia.
And yet, many close to Biden will feel that Smotrich’s words are part of a wider trend in Netanyahu’s government, and that not taking decisive actions to defend Palestinians and denounce violent rhetoric from Israeli leaders would embolden the far-right in Israel and wipe away the U.S.’s publicly stated desire of peace between the two communities.
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Smotrich, who is also the leader of the far-right Religious Zionism Party, is not the only Israeli leader to have spouted violent rhetoric against Palestinians. However, because Netanyahu needs these leaders to pass his desired policies, he has an incentive to placate them. And if he feels he can’t denounce the calls for violence, it is unlikely to abate soon.
