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Streeting tells Israel to get its own ‘house in order' over West Bank violence

Streeting tells Israel to get its own ‘house in order' over West Bank violence

Rhyl Journala day ago

He said that chants calling for 'death' to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) at Glastonbury were 'appalling'.
But Mr Streeting also urged Israel to look at the conduct of its own citizens and settlers in the West Bank.
Rapper Bobby Vylan, of rap punk duo Bob Vylan, on Saturday led crowds on the Glastonbury Festival's West Holts Stage in chants of 'Free, free Palestine' and 'Death, death to the IDF'.
On social media, the Israeli embassy had said the performances raise concerns about the 'normalisation of extremist language and the glorification of violence'.
The Health Secretary drew the comparison of his support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, telling Sky News's Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that he would not be 'celebrating or chanting for the death of Russian soldiers' but calling for an end to the conflict.
'I'd also say to the Israeli embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank.
'So, you know, I think there's a serious point there by the Israeli embassy I take seriously. I wish they'd take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously.'
Speaking to the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme he pointed to the actions of Israeli settlers in the West Bank in the past week.
He appeared to be referring to an attack by settlers in a town in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Palestinian authorities said that three people were killed after more than 100 settlers entered the town on Wednesday, set property ablaze and opened fire on residents who tried to stop them.
Mr Streeting said: 'What happened in the West Bank this week by Israeli settler terrorists needs to not only be condemned, it needs to be acted upon, and Israel cannot continue to look the other way while its own people are carrying out … acts of terrorism and violence.
'They wouldn't tolerate it rightly against their own citizens. Their citizens are doing it to Palestinians, and it's got to stop.'
The Israeli embassy in the UK has been contacted for comment.
Sir Keir Starmer's Government has stepped up pressure on Israel over the conflict in Gaza in recent months.
It paused negotiations on a UK-Israel trade deal and sanctioned two hardline ministers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet.
Bezalel Smotrich has campaigned against allowing aid into Gaza, and also supported the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which are considered illegal under international law.
Itamar Ben-Gvir has called for Gaza's people to be resettled from the territory.

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