US ambassador Shapiro slams Israel on Palestinian issue

Dan Shapiro, US Ambassador, accused Israel of blocking a two-state solution by “continued expansion of settlements” and raised questions about Israel’s “inadequate response to settler violence.” In a lecture at the annual conference of the Institute for National Security Studies Monday night, Ambassador Shapiro said: “Too much vigilantism goes unchecked and at times there seem to be two standards of adherence to the rule of law: one for Israelis and another for Palestinians,” he said. His comments drew an angry response for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who said they were unacceptable and inappropriate at a time of heightened Palestinian terrorist violence and omitted to hold the Palestinians responsible for the terror and the stalemate.