The United States condemned on Thursday, 2 March 2023 a senior Israeli minister for stating a Palestinian village that had been attacked by Israeli settlers needed to be “wiped out“, calling his remarks “repugnant”.

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “publicly and clearly” disavow the comments that his far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich made against the occupied West Bank village of Huwara.

Price stated that the call amounted to incitement to violence, saying “These comments were irresponsible. They were repugnant. They were disgusting,” on Wednesday.

Earlier on Wednesday, the far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the Palestinian village of Huwara should be “wiped out” days after colonial settlers went on a rampage in the occupied West Bank villages, burning dozens of houses and cars in the wake of the killing of two Israeli settlers.

“I think the village of Huwara needs to be wiped out. I think the state of Israel should do it,” Israeli Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich, who also handles civil administration in the occupied West Bank.

On Sunday night, hundreds of armed Israeli settlers attacked Huwara and nearby villages and torched dozens of houses and cars. Israeli settlers killed one Palestinian and injured more than 100 others during the attack which came amid a spike of violence in the occupied Palestinian lands.

Tensions have escalated between Palestinians and Israeli colonial settlers amid intensified Israeli deadly military raids in occupied Palestinian territories.

Earlier this month, Israeli occupation claimed the lives of 11 Palestinians and injured more than 100 others in a deadly military raid into the old city of Nablus.

Palestinian officials said this was the deadliest start to a year there since 2000. 64 Palestinians have been killed over the last two months across the occupied Palestinian lands.