UN rights chief slams Israeli minister's 'unfathomable' comments about Palestinian town

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk delivers a speech during the 52nd UN Human Rights Council session, in Geneva, on February 27, 2023.(Photo courtesy: AFP/FILE)
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  • Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for a flashpoint Palestinian town to be 鈥榳iped out鈥櫬�
  • US State Department spokesman Ned Price says Smotrich鈥檚 comments were 鈥榬epugnant, disgusting鈥櫬�

GENEVA: The UN human rights chief on Friday denounced the 鈥渦nfathomable鈥� call by an Israeli minister for a flashpoint Palestinian town to be 鈥渨iped out,鈥� urging an end to the violence. 

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich made his comments on Wednesday, days after two settlers were shot dead in Huwara, killings, that led to Israeli settlers to attack the northern West Bank town. 

鈥淚 think the village of Huwara needs to be wiped out,鈥� Smotrich said. 鈥淚 think the State of Israel should do it.鈥� 

Later, he tweeted that he 鈥渄idn鈥檛 mean to erase the village of Huwara, but only to act in a targeted way against the terrorists.鈥� 

But UN rights chief Volker Turk, speaking before the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, denounced Smotrich鈥檚 original comments as 鈥渁n unfathomable statement of incitement to violence and hostility.鈥� 

Washington, a staunch ally of Israel, was even more blunt in its response to Smotrich鈥檚 comments. 

鈥淭hey were irresponsible, they were repugnant, they were disgusting,鈥� US State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters. 

鈥淛ust as we condemn Palestinian incitement to violence, we condemn these provocative remarks that also amount to incitement to violence,鈥� he added. 

A French foreign ministry statement also condemned the comments as 鈥渦nacceptable, irresponsible and unworthy coming from a member of the Israeli government.鈥� 

鈥淭hese comments only fuel hatred and fuel the spiral of current violence,鈥� the statement added, appealing for calm. 

Smotrich, an extreme-right settler, spoke during a surge in violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and specifically in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since the Six-Day War of 1967. 

The attack on Huwara late Sunday saw hundreds of settlers set homes and cars ablaze and hurl stones, while a Palestinian man was killed in the nearby village of Zaatara. 

More than 350 Palestinians were injured, most suffering from tear gas inhalation, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said. 

On Monday, gunmen shot dead an Israeli-American motorist, and on Wednesday, Israeli forces searching for suspects in the Aqabat Jabr refugee camp near Jericho killed a Palestinian man. 

Presenting his office鈥檚 latest report on the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, Turk warned the council Friday that the 鈥渋ncreasing violence is condemning innocent people on all sides to further tragedy.鈥� 

He called on 鈥渄ecision-makers and people on all sides... to step back from the precipice to which increasing extremism and violence have led.鈥� 

Since the start of the year, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has claimed the lives of 65 Palestinian adults and children, including militants and civilians. 

Thirteen Israeli adults and children, including members of the security forces and civilians, and one Ukrainian civilian have been killed over the same period, according to an AFP tally based on official sources from both sides. 

The upsurge in violence comes after last year saw the highest number of Palestinians killed by Israeli security forces in 17 years, and the highest number of Israelis killed since 2016, Turk pointed out. 

鈥淚 condemn the violence that has killed and harmed so many people on both sides, and which generates overwhelming despair,鈥� he said. 

Many country representatives echoed Turk鈥檚 concerns Friday, while Palestinian ambassador Ibrahim Khraishi took the rights council floor to urge the international community to take 鈥減unitive steps鈥� against Israel. 

Israel, which routinely accuses the UN and especially the Human Rights Council of bias against it, meanwhile did not have a representative in the room for Turk鈥檚 presentation. 

The UN rights chief called on both sides to adhere to a commitment to de-escalation reached following talks Sunday in Jordan. 

鈥淚n the near future, there must be an end to settlements in occupied land. And within a foreseeable horizon, there must be a two-state solution,鈥� Turk insisted.