State Department spokesman Charles Redman on Thursday deplored Israel’s beatings of Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
“We are disturbed by the adoption of a policy by the government of Israel that calls for beatings as a means to restore or maintain order,” Redman said.
Redman apparently was referring to orders given this week to Israel Defense Force soldiers patrolling the West Bank to take the offensive against demonstrators and to beat them vigorously when they are caught.
Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin told reporters during a visit to Ramallah on Tuesday, “We will act with force, with strength, with blows to stop violent demonstrations.”
Redman said the Reagan administration believes that Israel “can carry out its responsibility to maintain order in the West Bank and Gaza Strip through the use of human measures which do not result in additional civilian casualties.
“We also call on the Palestinian inhabitants of the West Bank and Gaza to preserve order and avoid acts of violence,” he said.
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