Jason Greenblatt asks when Palestinian leaders will speak out against deadly assault in Adam
A top US official charged with brokering Middle East peace blasted the Palestinian Authority Thursday for its failure to condemn a terror attack inside a settlement that left one man dead and another with moderate injuries.
Special envoy Jason Greenblatt described the assault inside Adam, in the West Bank north of the Jerusalem as, “Yet another barbaric attack.”’
“When will President Abbas and Palestinian leaders condemn the violence? Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families tonight,” he wrote on Twitter.
The comment came after a Palestinian teen sneaked into Adam and stabbed three people before being shot and killed. One victim, a 31-year-old man, later succumbed to his wounds. Another man was listed in moderate condition after being taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. A third victim suffered light wounds, according to the Magen David Adom rescue service.
The attack occurred at 9 p.m, and few politicians in Israel or abroad, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, spoke out against the incident.
In a brief statement posted to Twitter, opposition head Tzipi Livni said she supported security forces battle against terror.
Greenblatt has been a frequent critic of PA President Mahmoud Abbas and has traded barbs with top Palestinian official Saeb Erekat. His rhetoric has at times echoed Israeli claims of PA support for terror and incitement.
After the attack, Culture Minister Miri Regev said the assailant had been “filled with incitement” from the PA.
Earlier on Thursday, Greenblatt tweeted support for Israel’s right to defend itself against “bad actors”, likely a reference to military confrontations with Hamas in Gaza and with Syria and the Islamic State on the Golan.
The settlement attack — the first major terror incident to strike Israel in several months and the first fatal assault on civilians since March — comes as the US was reportedly putting final touches on a long-awaited peace plan.