Benjamin Netanyahu, US envoy trade jabs over ‘two-standards’ of law in West Bank
The Prime Minister’s Office dismissed as “unacceptable and wrong” an uncharacteristically sharp public criticism of Israel’s legal standards leveled Monday by US envoy Dan Shapiro, who said there seems at times to be one standard of law in the West Bank for Israelis, and another for Palestinians.
“As Israel’s devoted friend and its most stalwart partner, we believe that Israel must develop stronger and more credible responses to questions about the rule of law in the West Bank,” Shapiro said during an address at the annual Institute for Strategic Studies Conference in Tel Aviv.
Noting that the recent indictments in the Duma murders “are an important demonstration of Israel’s commitment to prosecute acts of terrorism, regardless of their source,” Shapiro added, however, “too many attacks on Palestinians lack a vigorous investigation or response by Israeli authorities.”
“Too much vigilantism goes unchecked, and at times there seems to be two standards of adherence to the rule of law, one for Israelis, and another for Palestinians,” he asserted.
Shapiro’s comments came as part of some “critical questions” that he said needed to be asked of both Israelis and Palestinians.
The Prime Minister’s Office quickly issued a sharp response, saying that these words – coming on a day when Israel buried a mother of six killed in a terrorist attack, and as a pregnant woman was stabbed – “were unacceptable and wrong.”
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