In the last 24 hours, the number of members of the Arab community killed in 2023 rose to 111, the highest number since the creation of the State of Israel, after another five were killed in parallel episodes. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed his concerns.
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The situation of violence in Israel deepens after five other Arab-Israeli civilians were killed in one day -in separate incidents-, increasing the number of murders in the community to 111 so far this year, the highest number since the state creation.
Compared to the statistics of 2022, by this time of the year, barely 46 citizens had died.
On one of the deadliest days in the Arab sector, a father and son aged 61 and 26 were shot in the town of Shfaram. The police reported that it was due to an incident linked to criminal gangs.
While, in parallel matters, a 32-year-old man was also shot dead in Shfaram and another in Kfar Kanna. An incident in Rahat also resulted in the death of a minor under 17.
On the last day, 18 people were injured as a result of different armed clashes in Arab towns.
The community has constantly accused over the years that it has been discriminated against by the Israeli State, being denigrated and treated in disrepute by government institutions and ignored by civil organizations, such as the Police.
The United States warns about the conflict
Given this scenario, the Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, expressed his concern and stated that this context makes it very difficult for Israel to normalize its bilateral relations with Saudi Arabia.
In a speech during an event of the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, the diplomat again criticized the expansionism of the settlements in the West Bank.
“We have told our friends and allies in Israel that if there is a fire burning in their backyard, it will be much more difficult, if not impossible, to both deepen existing agreements and expand them to potentially include Saudi Arabia,” he said.
While he said that he spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen, about the wave of violence against Palestinian settlements in the West Bank last week. He said that despite this, Israel is not “deeply” interested in mounting difficulties to “seek normalization agreements.”
Representatives of the United Nations Security Council also expressed their disagreement with the approval of 5,400 new homes in settlements in the occupied West Bank.
With EFE and Reuters
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