An Israeli senior Foreign Ministry official reportedly lost her temper during a meeting with a group of diplomats from 16 European countries, Israeli media reported on Thursday.
According to the Israeli news website Walla News, the incident took place two weeks ago during a routine meeting to discuss the situation in occupied Palestine. The discussion largely focused on the recent rise in Jewish settler violence in the occupied West Bank. The European diplomats also raised concerns regarding Israeli settlement-building plans near East Jerusalem and in the so-called Area C of the occupied West Bank.
Fifteen European ambassadors led by the UK’s Neil Wigan, came to the Foreign Ministry and met with Deputy Director-General Aliza Bin Noun for a démarche, a diplomatic protest, against Israel two weeks ago.https://t.co/IYE6TE25hT
— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) January 6, 2022
The British-led delegation, according to Walla, presented an official letter to express its concerns to Aliza Bin Noun, director of the European Affairs Department at the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
Bin Noun, though, refused to address the points raised by the European delegation and Walla reported her as shouting back: “You are pissing me off”.
According to The Times of Israel, “The European diplomats said the atmosphere was bad and quickly got out of control quickly (sic), with the meeting breaking down and ending in a ‘big crisis’.”
Mustafa Falaneh and his only child, now fatherless after his death last night. Falaneh was hit by a settler’s car at a checkpoint while he was headed to work in 48 territories. His death illustrates the particular brand of violence to which Palestinian men are subjected. pic.twitter.com/vnV02sKd1P
— Good Shepherd Collective (@Shepherds4Good) January 6, 2022
The United Nations and the European Union have repeatedly expressed their concerns about the rise in settler violence in the occupied West Bank.
“Settler violence has always been an extremely disturbing feature of the Israeli occupation,” the UN experts said in a statement published in November last year. “In 2021, we are witnessing the highest recorded levels of violence in recent years and more severe incidents.”
(The Palestine Chronicle)
