NEW YORK (Press Release) — The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Friday (July 1) welcomed the Middle East Quartet’s call on the Palestinian Authority to “act decisively” to stop incitement to violence and strengthen efforts to combat terrorism following a series of deadly terrorist attacks in Israel over the last few days.
“In the aftermath of two deadly days in Israel, when civilians have been targeted in their beds, on the street and in their cars, it is clear that Palestinian leaders are not doing enough to stop incitement to violence in society,” said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO. “The Quartet’s call is encouraging and significant because they have made clear that Palestinian leadership must take real and serious steps to stop terrorism and violence against civilians in order to set the stage for peace.”
The Middle East Quartet – comprised of the United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia – has issued a report on the situation on ground between Israel and the Palestinians highlighting three main areas which it says are “undermining hopes” for peace: violence and incitement; settlement building; and the situation in Gaza.
“Along with serious Palestinian steps on incitement and an end to their efforts to circumvent direct negotiations through international campaigns, there are tangible measures Israel can take related to settlement building and Palestinian development,” Mr. Greenblatt said. “The recommendation for support for civil society efforts to foster understanding, tolerance and counter-extremism is a constructive measure both sides can embrace.”
ADL welcomed the Quartet report as a good-faith approach to constructively and practically encourage steps to support a two-state solution, while noting the importance of the Quartet’s assertion that “a permanent status agreement that ends the conflict can only be achieved through direct bilateral negotiations.”
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Americans for Peace Now (APN) issued the following statement:
Americans for Peace Now (APN) joins its sister organization, Israel’s Peace Now movement, in strongly condemning the recent deadly terrorist attacks against Israelis in the West Bank and in pointing out that ultimately, the only way to end such violence is ending the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip by achieving a two-state solution.
This imperative was further underscored in today’s report by the international Middle East Quartet, the body that brings together the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations to advance Israeli-Palestinian peace.
APN’s President and CEO Debra DeLee said: “Yesterday, a 13-year-old Israeli girl, Hallel Ariel, was stabbed to death in her sleep at her family’s home in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba near Hebron. The attacker, 17-year-old Muhammad Tarayre of the neighboring village of Bani Naim jumped the fence into Kiryat Arba, fatally stabbed the girl, stabbed a security guard, and was then shot dead. Later in the day, two Israelis were injured in a stabbing attack in Netanya, inside Israel. Today, an Israeli father of ten, Michael Mark, was shot dead and his wife Hava was severely injured near Hebron. Two of the couple’s ten children were injured in the drive-by terror attack. The gunmen escaped.
“These shocking and heinous terrorist attacks, targeting civilians, are inexcusable. Nothing justifies murdering a teen in her bed or shooting a family in its car. We send our condolences to the Ariel and Mark families, and wish a full recovery to those who were injured.
“These attacks are antithetical to the pursuit of a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but they must not serve as a reason or as an excuse for measures that would further jeopardize the two-state solution.
“The only way to curtail and ultimately stop the violence is a political agreement that would end the occupation and separate Israel from a newly established Palestine, a sovereign independent state, living side-by-side with Israel in peace and security.”