The United States has condemned Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's comments in favor of "erasing" the small Palestinian town of Huwara in the West Bank.
"These comments were irresponsible. They were repugnant. They were disgusting," he said in Washington. "Just as we condemn Palestinian incitement to violence, we condemn these provocative remarks that also amount to incitement to violence," U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said Wednesday.
The condemnation comes after Smotrich, who is also in charge of settlement expansion in the West Bank, said Wednesday that "the village of Huwara must be erased. I think the state of Israel has to do this – for God's sake, not private citizens."
Price went on to call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials "to publicly and clearly reject and disavow these comments."
He added that the U.S. has continuously urged that there be equal measures of accountability for actions regardless of the background of the perpetrators or the victims.
He said it is now more important than ever that Israelis and Palestinians work together to de-escalate tensions and restore the calm that both Israelis and Palestinians deserve.
According to estimates by the Central Palestinian Bureau of Statistics, around 7,400 Palestinians live in Huwara, located south of Nablus in the northern West Bank.
A central connecting road runs through the small town, which is also used daily by many Israeli settlers in the northern West Bank.
Earlier Sunday, two Israelis were allegedly shot dead by a Palestinian in Huwara. Afterward, Israeli settlers rioted to kill one and injure hundreds of other Palestinians. Dozens of houses, shops and cars were also set on fire.
Since the beginning of the year, more than 63 Palestinians have died in Israeli military violence, while 13 Israelis and one Ukrainian woman have been killed in alleged Palestinian attacks.
Israel has occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 1967. Today, more than 600,000 Israeli settlers live there.
The Palestinians claim the territories for an independent state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital.
