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Transcript/ScriptUSAGM SHARE
((PLAYBOOK SLUG: ISRAEL PALESTINIAN VIOLENCE
HEADLINE: Israeli-Palestinian Violence Spirals
TEASER: Palestinians and Jewish settlers trade attacks as death toll mounts
PUBLISHED: 03/07/2023 at 8:15am
BYLINE: Linda Gradstein
DATELINE: Jerusalem
VIDEOGRAPHER: Ricki Rosen, Agencies
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT EDITORS: LR, Bowman SR
VIDEO SOURCES: VOA, REUTERS, AFP
PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV X RADIO x
TRT: 2:21
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: Web desk, please post camera credit for Ricki Rosen))
((INTRO))
[[Since the start of the year, the West Bank has seen an intensifying cycle of violence between Israelis and Palestinians. The half a million Jewish settlers in the West Bank want the Israeli government to do more to stop Palestinian attacks. Linda Gradstein reports for VOA from Jerusalem.]]
((NARRATOR))
In the past month, 14 Israelis and at least 50 Palestinians have been killed either in terrorist attacks or in clashes with Israeli soldiers, and the violence shows no sign of abating.
The latest round began when Palestinians shot and killed two Israeli brothers from the West Bank settlement of Har Bracha as they drove through the Palestinian town of Hawara. Settlers in the area say that the road through Hawara, which thousands of settlers travel on to reach Jerusalem every day, has long been prone to attacks.
((Yisrael Medad, West Bank Israeli Settler (Male (in English), VOA))
((Mandatory cg: Zoom))
“It unfortunately lends itself to be a place where stone throwing and firebombing is frequent. And on the backdrop in 2022, over 7000 incidents altogether were reported.”
((NARRATOR))
Following the attack, hundreds of Israeli West Bank settlers rampaged through Hawara, burning homes and cars, and killing one Palestinian, until the Israeli Army was able to stop them after several hours.
((Nabil Abu Rudeineh, Palestinian Authority Spokesman, Male (in Arabic, NEEDS VOICEOVER) ))
"This is a war against the Palestinian people, an inclusive war that is backed by the Israeli government. These settlers’ attacks are part of the policy of the government in spite that some try to deny it.”
((NARRATOR))
Many Israelis, including the country’s West Bank army commander, condemned the settler attack as a pogrom, a term which usually refers to mass riots against Jews.
((Mandatory cg: twitter@MatanHodorov))
Tensions were inflamed further when Israeli Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich said that the state of Israel should wipe out the town of Hawara. Smotrich later called his statement “an emotional slip of the tongue”, but it was widely condemned in Israel and internationally as a dangerous incitement to violence.
((Amos Harel, Haaretz Journalist, Male, (in English)))
((Mandatory cg: Israel Policy Forum))
“From a strategic point of view, if you’d like, this means more escalation and more violence, a cycle of violence that will continue in the West Bank. From a moral point of view, I think it’s extremely troubling for us as Jews and Israelis to watch this.”
((NARRATOR))
Israeli analysts say there is concern that the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins later this month, could heighten tensions even further.
((Linda Gradstein, for VOA News, Jerusalem))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateMarch 7, 2023 08:10 EST
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
