KARACHI: The US State Department spokesperson has come under fire for not referring to violence committed against Palestinians as ‘terrorism’.

In a tweet on Feb 27, Ned Price had referred to the shooting in which two Israelis were killed, as “terrorism”, whereas the settlers’ violence against Palestinians was separated.

At a press briefing on Tuesday, a journalist asked Mr Price “I noticed in your tweet yesterday you referred to the shooting that — in which two Israelis were killed as a terror — or terrorism, whereas the settler violence was separated. Was that deliberate? And if yes, how do you differentiate or decide when to use the word “terrorism” versus when not to?

Responding to this, Mr Price avoided a clear answer and said it was best not to go into definitions from the podium.

“I think it’s best not to parse and to go into definitions from the podium. We are condemning the extremist violence that we’ve seen over the past couple days,” he said.

He said the US was extremely concerned by the continuing violence in Israel and the West Bank, and condemned the killing of Israelis and Palestinians last week.

“We condemn the horrific killing of two Israeli brothers near Nablus and the killing today of an Israeli near Jericho. We also condemn the widescale, indiscriminate violence by settlers against Palestinian civilians following the killing,” he said.

“These actions are completely unacceptable,” he added.

The spokesperson ask­ed the Israeli government to ensure accountability and prosecution of those involved in the violence.

Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2023