‘’Terrorism in all its forms is unacceptable and never an answer. The EU remains firmly committed to the prevention of and fight against terrorism,’’ the EU said.
”The European Union firmly condemns Tuesday’s terrorist attack near the settlement of Eli,’’ says a statement issued Wednesday by the EU’external service.
In this attack, Palestinian terrorists from northern Samaria (northern West Bank), armed with M-16s, killed four Israelis at a restaurant by the town of Eli. Seven other Israelis were wounded, one critically. The previous day, Palestinian terrorists in the northern Samaria city of Jenin ambushed Israel Defense Forces with a massive roadside bomb. As the IDF worked to evacuate the wounded, Palestinian terrorists attacked them with a continuous barrage of bullets from all sides. It took hours for the IDF to evacuate five vehicles trapped by the blast. To ensure the safety of the wounded, the Israeli Air Force was deployed for the first time in more than 20 years.
‘’Terrorism in all its forms is unacceptable and never an answer. The EU remains firmly committed to the prevention of and fight against terrorism,’’ the EU statement adds.
‘’The EU is deeply worried about the ongoing escalation of violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory and continued settlement expansion. We urge all parties to work towards de-escalation and ending the cycle of violenc,’’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered condolences to the families of the four Israelis who were killed earlier in the day in the “atrocious and shocking attack” in the Jewish community of Eli.
The four victims who were murdered have been named.
They are Harel Masood, 21, of Yad Binyamin in southern Israel; Ofer Fairman, 64 (some reports say 60), of Eli; Elisha Anteman, 17 (some reports say 18), a 12th-grader attending a yeshivah seminary who lived in Eli’s Nevah neighborhood; and Nachman Shmuel Mordoff, 17, of the Jewish community of Ahiya.
The Eli community released a statement: “Blessed is the true Judge. With great sadness, we announce the passing of Elisha Antman, who was murdered in today’s attack, a resident of the Neveh neighborhood in the Eli community. We share in the family’s grief,” i24 News reported.
U.S. State Department appears to double down on Ambassador Nides’ moral equivalence
Several hours after the killing of the four Israelis, Tom Nides, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, posted a statement. “Deeply concerned about the civilian deaths and injuries that have occurred in the West Bank these past 48 hours, including that of minors. Praying for the families as they mourn the loss of loved ones, or tend to those injured,” the ambassador tweeted initially.
Many, including former Anti-Defamation League head Abraham Foxman, noted that Nides appeared to draw a moral equivalence between the Jewish victims of terrorism and the terrorists, against whom Israel had launched an operation the prior day.
About an hour later, Nides tweeted, “I condemn in the strongest terms the senseless murder of four innocent Israelis today—my heart is with their grieving family members.”
Some five hours after that, Foggy Bottom issued a statement from Matthew Miller, a State Department spokesman. The statement was headlined: “Terror attack near Eli and West Bank violence.”
“The United States condemns the terrorist attack against Israelis near Eli in the West Bank today. We express our deepest condolences to the families of those killed and wish the injured a speedy recovery,” Miller stated.
“We are also concerned about the continuation of violence in Israel and the West Bank in recent weeks that has killed and injured Palestinian and Israeli civilians,” Miller added. “We will continue to work with Israel and the Palestinian Authority to promote steps towards de-escalation.”