The State Department condemned the two murders of Israeli soldiers in the West Bank as messing with their peace process plans.
“The United States condemns the killings of two Israeli soldiers in separate incidents in the West Bank in the last two days. Such violence and terror are unacceptable, and undermine efforts to establish the positive atmosphere the parties need to progress in peace negotiations. We call on all parties to join in condemning these attacks,” State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a statement Sunday.
Secretary of State John Kerry has tried to make the restarting of the peace process toward a two-state solution his signature issue, taking a lengthy victory lap in July after announcing a “breakthrough” to launch negotiations.
On Friday, Tomer Hazan, a 20-year-old sergeant in the Israel Air Force was lured to a village by a Palestinian co-worker. He was taken to an open field where he was killed and his body thrown down a well.
The killer, 42-year-old Nidal Amar, reportedly wanted to trade Hazan’s body for a jailed Fatah terrorist.
On Sunday, an Israeli soldier was killed by a sniper in Hebron.
“The soldier participated in the Israel Defense Forces routine activities defending the Jewish neighborhood of Hebron and approximately 11,000 civilians visiting the area during the holiday of Sukkot,” the military said in a statement.
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