US ambassador visits illegal Israeli settlement in West Bank

The US ambassador to Israel on Thursday visited an illegal settlement in the occupied West Bank to offer his condolences to relatives of an Israeli man killed in an attack, a spokeswoman said. 

The spokeswoman for the American embassy confirmed that this was ambassador Thomas Nides' first visit to a settlement since taking up the post, adding that his "position on settlements is quite clear" - despite their illegality under international law. 

In a January interview, Nides told the Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot that he would not visit Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank - widely considered illegal under international law.

Nides was accompanied by Yossi Dagan, the head of the Shomron regional council which administers the illegal settlements in the northern West Bank.

He was visiting the family of Tamir Avihai, a resident of the Kiryat Netafim settlement and one of three victims killed Tuesday in an attack by eighteen-year-old Mohammed Mourad Souf in Ariel, one of the largest Israeli settler communities in the occupied Palestinian territory which is built on land confiscated from the Palestinian city of Salfit.

Officials said the attacker stabbed two Israelis to death and knifed several others before killing Avihai with a stolen car. An Israeli soldier then shot dead the attacker.

"I went to offer my condolences... my heart is broken for you," Nides was quoted as having said to the family in a statement from the Shomron council.

He had visited the families of the two other victims earlier, the US embassy said.

Nides was confirmed in his post as ambassador one year ago.

Earlier on Wednesday, Israeli forces stormed the Palestinian village of Haris, near the West Bank town of Salfit, raiding the home of the perpetrated the attack and preparing it for its demolition. Israel regularly demolishes the family homes of Palestinians who carry out attacks on Israelis, an act decried as collective punishment by rights groups.

Despite the deaths of Israelis, Palestinian civilians have overwhelmingly been the victims of shootings by Israelis and settlers in the occupied West Bank.

2022 has been the deadliest year on record in the West Bank, with the Israeli army making near-daily raids on Palestinian towns, killing, wounding or detaining hundreds of Palestinians.