Israeli officials believe that despite the signals of concern from the Biden administration and Europe, the international community is sympathetic to Israel’s stance on the rising unrest in the West Bank.
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The U.S. assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, Barbara Leaf, told journalists on Wednesday that she is "concerned" about the escalation.
"Our part in this is to ensure that to the greatest degree possible that security cooperation is robust and continuing, but that other things are done around and outside that security cooperation that sustain it," she said. She cited economic conditions on the West Bank and Gaza as a direct factor that can "help and sustain improvement and security" in the region.
During her visit to the region last week Leaf expressed fear of a possible escalation in the near future, but according to a diplomatic source, Washington has not demanded that Israel change its policy in the West Bank. “The Americans aren’t pressuring us to do this or to do that. They understand the security situation.”
A senior Israeli figure warned Monday of what he called a “vicious circle” that has been created as a result of the indifference of the Palestinian leadership. “On the one hand, the Palestinian Authority argues, ‘It’s not our business,’ but then we take action and it weakens the PA. This circle isn’t good for anyone,” he said.
Israel has struggled to come up with a goodwill gesture that could calm the situation. Over the past year, Israel approved more than 30 economic measures, including significantly increasing the number of Palestinians permitted to cross into Israeli daily to work. Experts say similar steps will help Palestinians but are unlikely to lower the flames.
“Don’t expect any big dramas in the near term,” said a source who attended the recent meetings on the issue in the Prime Minister’s Office and the defense establishment. The principal decision, for now, is to continue the offensive operations meant to thwart terror attacks and to increase cooperation with the Palestinian security services, as much as possible.
Prime Minister Yair Lapid raised the issue during his meeting in Berlin Monday with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. According to a diplomatic source, “Lapid said the Palestinian Authority must do more than it is doing to curb the violence in Jenin and Nablus if it wants to be taken seriously as a party that [others] speak with.”
Other officials said the Palestinian issue was very minor in the conversation and that Scholz, too, did not make any significant demands from Israel in this regard. At their news conference, Scholz made do with reiterating support for a two-state solution, but added that to prevent an escalation of the violence, the situation of the Palestinians must be improved. He called on all of the parties to avoid unilateral measures.
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