US President Joe Biden condemned retaliatory attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank, during a Wednesday news conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Biden characterized such actions by “extremist settlers” as “pouring gasoline” on an already volatile situation since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.
“Settler violence against Palestinians has to stop now,” said President Biden, acknowledging the increased violence since the recent Hamas attack, which resulted in the deaths of Palestinians according to authorities. The West Bank Protection Consortium, a coalition of NGOs and donor countries, reported that hundreds of Palestinians have been forcibly displaced due to settler violence since Oct. 7.
The president also reiterated his commitment to a two-state solution for the Israel-Palestinian conflict. In a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Biden emphasized the need for a “pathway for a permanent peace” following the resolution of the current crisis.
The US president criticized the brutality of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, which killed 1,400 Israelis. Biden warned Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, against aggression toward US forces in the Middle East, emphasizing that “we will respond.”