The United States has urged
its citizens staying in Gaza to leave the coastal enclave “as soon as
possible” over the Israeli bombardments of the area.
The
warning came after the Israeli military Sunday pounded targets in the
Gaza Strip and injured four, including two in the town of Beit Hanun.
The
State Department warned Tuesday against "all travel" to the Gaza Strip
and "urges those present to depart as soon as possible when border
crossings are open."
"The security environment within Gaza and on its borders is dangerous and volatile," the department added.
It also said that Americans have been killed or wounded in the Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 2015.
However, it added that "there is no indication that US citizens were specifically targeted based on nationality." A
Palestinian man loads stones on a cart next to a crater on August 22,
2016 in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, following an Israeli
airstrike. (AFP photo)The Israeli military
frequently bombs Gaza. The disproportionate force is always used in
violation of international law and civilians are often killed or
injured.
The State Department also warned Israel against expanding
its settlements in the occupied Palestine that has created a major
obstacle for the efforts to establish peace in the Middle East.
“That
would represent a deeply concerning step of settlement expansion on
land that is at least partially owned by Palestinians," department
spokesman Mark Toner said at a press briefing.
"We strongly oppose
all settlement activity, which is corrosive to the cause of peace. And
we've said repeatedly such moves are not consistent with Israel's stated
desire to achieve a two-state solution," Toner added.
More than
half a million Israelis live in over 230 illegal settlements built since
the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West
Bank and East al-Quds.
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