Foreign Policy article: Washington has enabled Israeli extremism

The senior researcher at the Middle East Institute, Khaled Al-Jundi, criticized the US administration's reactions to Israeli violence against the Palestinians, saying that it enabled Israeli extremism and would lead to the strengthening of this violence.

He explained -

site, "Foreign Policy" - that Washington's reaction to the violence from settlers and extremist Yemenis was remarkably silent.

He added that while Israeli extremists attacked Palestinian Jews in Jerusalem;

The US State Department issued a public statement that slapped both sides, rejecting what it called “the speech of extremist demonstrators chanting hateful and violent slogans,” and calling for calm, but “failing to identify the extremists or their targets.”

Even members of Congress

It is also surprising, he said, that there is not nearly one member of Congress who can muster public condemnation of violence by Israeli Jewish extremists, especially given the traditional voice of members of Congress when violence is unleashed on the Palestinians.

He added,

But none of the reaction of the US government or Congress was not surprising. Washington still vehemently denies the increasing trend of extremism in Israeli politics and society, which enabled extremism and led to its fueling.

The writer pointed out that Washington turned a blind eye to the increase in extreme right-wing trends and policies in Israel that aim to exclude the Palestinians, such as the passage of the 2018 nation-state law, which implicitly considers 1.2 million Palestinian citizens in Israel second-class citizens, not to mention the 4.5 million Palestinians who live under occupation. Israelis in the West Bank without civil or political rights at all.

Expectations of a deteriorating security situation

The writer had mentioned in his article the details of the violence that rocked Jerusalem during the past two weeks, and groups of extremists and Israeli Jewish mobs invaded Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, chanting "Death to the Arabs", throwing stones at Palestinian homes, and attacking Arab passers-by.

The soldier expected that the security situation would deteriorate further in Jerusalem, given that some planning - perhaps the worst - had yet to come. Israeli Jewish extremists seek to provoke the Palestinians in the last days of the current holy month of Ramadan.