Settler Group Threatens European, American Diplomats in Ramallah

March 10, 2011 by occupiedpalestine 0 Comments

PNN – Palestine News Network – 10.03.11 – 11:32

Ramallah – PNN – European and American diplomats in Ramallah told the London-based al-Hayat newspaper that a group of settlers handed them letters last Thursday threatening them over their position on settlements as crossed a military checkpoint into the city.

An Israeli settler and soldier confront a Palestinian woman (PNN Archive).

The letter, obtained by al-Hayat, reads as follows:

“Dear diplomats, You are guests in our land. You are standing on the sacred land of the Jewish nation. Do not interfere with [settlement] building on our land. Interference from the American government and the European Union puts your presence here at risk. Go back to your countries and face the facts. We will not make peace with Palestinian terrorists.” The letter concluded, “President Barack Hussein Obama, and friends like you, need enemies.”

The diplomats, who refused to be named, told al-Hayat, “The settlers handed threatening letters to all the diplomats coming from Jerusalem to their offices in Ramallah as they stood in line at the military checkpoint east of the city, near the Bethel settlement.” The hand-over took place in direct view of Israeli soldiers, according to the diplomats.

The diplomats said they were worried for their lives on account of the threats. One of them told al-Hayat, “I’ve worked here for years and I was working here during the Intifada years. This is the first time I have been threatened. I will be more cautious moving between Jerusalem and Ramallah.”

Other diplomats said they would avoid daily travel in the area in question.

Many Western diplomats work in Ramallah but live with their families in Jerusalem, which forces them to make daily trips between the two cities on roads used by settlers.

The diplomats said the settlers singled out their car by its diplomatic plates and one of them, a youth with a kippot and ringlets, handed them the letter.

Settler attacks have been on the rise in recent days since settlers announced a “day of rage” last week to protest the Israeli army’s dismantling of an illegal outpost named Havat Gilad, near Nablus. In the village of Qasra, also near Nablus, settlers opened fire on farmers, injuring nine.

Palestinian Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad visited the injured farmers in Rafidiya Hospital in Nablus and told reporters afterward that the Israeli government had to take full responsibility for the “terrorist” attacks. He described the settlers as “terrorists and scoundrels.”

“The international community must realize the address of the settlers, that is, that the government of Israel bears full responsibility for what they have done to our people in Qasra,” said Fayyad. “[They must note] that what happened against our people was not just the terrorism of settlers, but that occupation soldiers participated, too.”