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“Too much [Jewish] vigilantism goes unchecked, and at times there seems to be two standards of adherence to the rule of law, one for Israelis, and another for Palestinians,” Shapiro said in a speech at the annual meeting of the Institute for Strategic Studies in Tel Aviv.
The ambassador welcomed the indictment in early January of two Israelis over a firebombing in the occupied West Bank last year that killed a Palestinian couple and their toddler.
The indictments were “an important demonstration of Israel’s commitment to prosecute acts of terrorism, regardless of their source, but too many attacks on Palestinians lack a vigorous investigation or response by Israeli authorities”, he said.
Netanyahu’s office insisted the Jewish state “applies the law on Israelis just as it does on Palestinians” and said Shapiro’s comments – coming on the same day as the burial of an Israeli mother of six who was stabbed to death in her home in a West Bank settlement – were “not acceptable or just”.
