Under Israeli pressure, US envoy backpedals on balanced tweet on West Bank deaths

The US Ambassador to Israel, Tom Nides, on Wednesday was forced to 'clarify' an initial tweet condemning Tuesday’s fatal West Bank attack, after facing sharp criticism from his Israeli counterpart Michael Herzog.

Nides wrote following the attack Eli, in which four Israeli settlers were shot dead, that he was “deeply concerned about the civilian deaths and injuries that have occurred in the West Bank these past 48 hours, including that of minors.”

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.

— Ambassador Tom Nides (@USAmbIsrael) June 20, 2023

The tweet was an attempt by Nides to strike a balance, with the ambassador simply acknowledging the deaths of both Israelis and Palestinians this week across the West Bank.  In Jenin on Monday, seven Palestinians, including a 15-year-old girl, were killed after a raid by the Israeli security forces.

However, Nides’ sentiments did not go down well with Herzog, who took the American to task without mentioning him by name, tweeting “yet another heinous Palestinian terror attack claimed the lives of 4 innocent Israeli civilians”. Herzog went on to say there is “no justification for whatsoever for the targeting and killing of innocent civilians,” adding that "it must be unequivocally condemned.”

In a clear shot at Nides, Herzog said “any attempt of a so called 'balanced' condemnation is misguided and disrespectful to the memory of the victims.” He then went on to claim that the deaths of Palestinians in Jenin were the fault of the Palestinian Authority and that the city was “an Iranian terror stronghold”.

After Herzog’s criticism and facing a social media backlash from supporters of Israel, Nides buckled and was compelled to backpedal on his earlier, more balanced tweet, writing “I condemn in the strongest terms the senseless murder of four innocent Israelis today — my heart is with their grieving family members.”

I condemn in the strongest terms the senseless murder of four innocent Israelis today — my heart is with their grieving family members.

— Ambassador Tom Nides (@USAmbIsrael) June 20, 2023

Interestingly, the US State Department’s statement on the violence echoed the sentiments of Nides’ first tweet, with spokesman Matthew Miller saying the US was “concerned about the continuation of violence in Israel and the West Bank in recent weeks that has killed and injured Palestinian and Israeli civilians.”

Since the start of the year, 174 Palestinians have been killed by Israel in the occupied territories.