AJC Denounces Israeli Settler Violence

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Jan 04, 2013, 01:52 ET

NEW YORK, Jan. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC denounced actions by Israeli settlers in the West Bank this week.

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Israeli Jews from the Esh Kodesh outpost settlement assaulted Palestinians in the nearby village of Jalud. Both the Israelis and Palestinians reportedly claim ownership of the same farm land. IDF soldiers intervened on the second day of the clashes to restore calm.

"Whatever will be the permanent peace settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the two peoples are destined to live side-by-side," said AJC Executive Director David Harris. "Settler violence against Palestinian individuals and property is an incendiary act. In a democratic society, such as Israel, there is no place whatsoever for citizens to take the law into their own hands. Where there are disputes, Israel's steadfast commitment to the rule of law can and must be the way of sorting them out."

On a related note, AJC condemned the latest provocative act of Moshe Feiglin, a Likud-Yisrael Beiteinu candidate for the Knesset, who called for offering cash incentives to encourage Palestinian families to relocate from the West Bank to Arab countries.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee