West Bank sees dramatic increase in stonings following Security Council resolution, Kerry speech and talk of moving US embassy to Jerusalem
The West Bank has seen a sharp rise in the number of violent attacks, primarily rock-throwing incidents, since an anti-settlement resolution was passed on December 23, 2016 by the United Nations Security Council, Israeli defense officials said.
The rise was recorded in the last week of December 2016 and the first week of January 2017, an increase security forces say is mostly due to exam season in Palestinian high schools. They note, though, that it is a larger increase than in the same period in previous years.
In September 346 rock-throwing attacks were recorded, in October 375, in November 420, and in December 344. Most of the December attacks occurred in the final week of the month. In the first week of January there were 169 recorded attacks, a pace that, if maintained, would lead to almost 700 attacks by the end of the month.
….
Nevertheless, the political context cannot be dismissed. On December 23, 2016, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 2334 demanding an end to settlements in the West Bank. A few days later, on December 28, US Secretary of State John Kerry gave a speech warning of the dangers of settlement expansion. Finally, Palestinians have been agitated by ongoing discussion about the possibility the US embassy will be moved to Jerusalem after President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
….
- Discussion
-
Palestinian rock attacks on the rise since UN settlement vote | The Times of Israel https://t.co/YUcCvoOlvi
— avi issacharoff (@issacharoff) January 10, 2017
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.