US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed concern over recent violence in the region during his conversation with Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on Tuesday, the State Department said in a statement.
“Secretary Blinken conveyed concern over the recent escalation of violence, which has directly affected US citizens in the West Bank, and underscored the need for all parties to work to further de-escalate the situation,” said State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller.
“The Secretary expressed condolences for the recent terrorist attack against Israeli citizens in the West Bank,” he added.
Blinken tweeted about his conversation with Cohen later on Tuesday and wrote, “I spoke with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen to express our concern over the recent escalation of violence and condolences for the recent terrorist attack against Israelis.”
Last week, the United States condemned the terrorist attack in Eli, in which four Israelis were murdered, but also criticized “rising levels of violence” in Judea and Samaria, after groups of Israeli youth entered Palestinian Arab cities and torched vehicles, shops, and homes.
Cohen said on Tuesday after his conversation with Blinken, "Expanding the circle of normalization and peace in the Middle East, led by the US, will advance the entire region and bring security, prosperity and stability. We will continue to work to build and strengthen our relations with other countries in the Middle East and beyond."
"I told the Secretary of State that behind the latest security escalation in Judea and Samaria are the terrorist metastases of the Iranian Ayatollahs regime. Iran directs terrorism all over the Middle East, from Lebanon and Syria, through Iraq and Yemen, to Hamas and the Islamic Jihad. The international community must act decisively and unambiguously in order to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons," Cohen added.
"A nuclear weapon in the hands of the Iranian terrorist regime would be a danger to the whole world and would signal a regional nuclear arms race. The Israeli government will continue to fight Palestinian terrorism until the end and protect its citizens, however, I emphasized to him that we strongly condemn incidents in which citizens take the law into their own hands."
"In a conversation with my friend, Secretary of State Blinken, I expressed my great appreciation for the outgoing US Ambassador Tom Nides for his central role in strengthening the strategic ties between Israel and the US and promoting the visa exemption for Israeli citizens. We are in the final stages of the process, and I estimate that in October of this year we will be able to mark its completion and bring good news to the citizens of Israel," concluded Cohen.