Rubio says expects Israel to act on settler violence

2026-03-28 - 00:50

US secretary of state Marco Rubio gestures as he speaks to the press following a G7 foreign ministers’ meeting before his departure at the Bourget airport. (AFP pic) PARIS: US secretary of state Marco Rubio said Friday he anticipated that ally Israel would act against rising violence by extremist settlers in the West Bank against Palestinians. “We’re concerned about that,” he told reporters in Paris after Group of Seven talks. “I think there’s concern in the Israeli government about it as well.” “I think you’ll see the government there do something about it,” Rubio said. He declined to say if the US was pressuring Israel over the violence, which has stepped up after US-Israeli strikes on Iran sparked a regionwide war. President Donald Trump lifted US sanctions targeting settler extremists after taking office last year. Rubio said the Israeli government’s concern was that attacks have targeted Israeli security forces. Diplomats from 13 European nations and Canada — but not the US — recently decried “increasing settler terror” and said the violent attempts to seize Palestinian land “must end”.