Settler violence in the West Bank is “incredibly destabilising and counter-productive to Israel’s long-term security in addition to, of course, being extremely harmful to the Palestinians living in the West Bank,” state department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

“We have sent a very clear message to them that it’s unacceptable, it needs to stop and those responsible for it need to be held accountable,” Miller said of US contact with the Israeli government.

Violence in the West Bank has been on the rise since early last year, marked by frequent army raids, attacks by Israeli settlers and Palestinian attacks on Israeli forces and settlers.

More than 120 West Bank Palestinians have been killed since the Gaza war began on Oct 7 after Hamas gunmen stormed over the border killing more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli authorities.

Since then, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says more than 8,500 people have been killed in Israel’s bombardment, two-thirds of them women and children.