The US and Israel appeared to be at loggerheads on Thursday in what could be the first public quarrel between the new Israeli government and the Biden administration.
The clash was triggered by indirect US criticism on Thursday over Israel's decision to destroy the family home of a Palestinian-American accused of involvement in a shooting that killed an Israeli and wounded two others in Judea and Samaria.
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Muntasir Shalabi was indicted in an Israeli military court over the attack in May in which student Yehuda Guetta was shot dead.
After an appeal in an Israeli court by Shalabi's family against the demolition was unsuccessful, the military said, the villa in Turmus Ayya, a village in which many Palestinian-Americans live, was leveled in a controlled explosion.
In a statement after the home was destroyed, the US Embassy in Jerusalem called on "all parties to refrain from unilateral steps that exacerbate tensions and undercut efforts to advance a negotiated two-state solution" of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"This certainly includes the punitive demolition of Palestinian homes," a spokesperson said. "As we stated numerous times, the home of an entire family should not be demolished for the actions of one individual."
US criticism of Israeli policy towards the Palestinians was rare during the presidency of Donald Trump. An official in Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's office responded about an hour later with a statement: "The Prime Minister appreciates and respects the US administration. At the same time, it acts solely in accordance with the security considerations of the State of Israel and the protection of the lives of Israeli citizens."
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