--- title: "US and China simultaneously urge Israel to rethink West Bank policy following attacks on journalists and diplomats" description: "On October 17, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged Israel to strengthen measures against settler attacks and halt the creation of new West Bank settlements. Israel labeled the attackers \"rioters\" and emphasized the need for diplomats to coordinate with the military." date: 2026-10-18T07:53:48.520Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/us-china-urge-israel-west-bank-policy-shift tags: [israel, west-bank, settlements, us-policy, china, diplomacy] author: "Alexander Buran" publisher: "XAB.info" --- # US and China simultaneously urge Israel to rethink West Bank policy following attacks on journalists and diplomats ![Marco Rubio giving an interview with an airfield and control tower in the background](https://xab.info/media/2026/10/18/ssha-i-kitay-prizyvayut-israel-k-politike-na-zapadnom-beregu/ssha-i-kitay-prizyvayut-israel-k-politike-na-zapadnom-beregu-1.webp) ## Key Points - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanded that Israel take decisive action against settler attacks in the West Bank. - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on Israel to stop and reverse the construction of new settlements, citing the two-state solution. - The trigger incident involved an attack on Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine and European diplomats. - Israel (Gideon Sa'ar) labeled the attackers as "Israeli rioters" and argued that diplomats should have coordinated their visit with the military. - According to the UN, by 2025 Israel had approved 54 new settlements and 86 outposts in the West Bank. On October 17, 2026, amid a series of violent incidents in Israeli settlements on the West Bank, two influential global players—the U.S. and China—called almost simultaneously for Tel Aviv to change course. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanded that Israel strengthen measures to prevent settler attacks, while Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for a freeze and reversal of new settlement construction. Both statements were issued on the same day and were triggered, in part, by the spread of footage on social media showing an attack on an American photojournalist. ### Washington's statement: "take decisive action" According to the Times of Israel, Marco Rubio stated that Washington is "deeply concerned" about the situation in the West Bank. He noted that the U.S. has already contacted the Israeli side and demanded that decisive action be taken against settler violence. The statement comes against the backdrop of a series of incidents in which not only Palestinian civilians but also foreign journalists and diplomats were targeted, which, according to the U.S. Secretary of State, requires an immediate response from Tel Aviv. ### Attack on a photojournalist and diplomats The trigger for Rubio's statement was a video showing several people attacking American photojournalist Heidi Levine of the Washington Post. According to reports, Levine was one of two individuals injured in the October 17 incident, when Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian civilians. Earlier, Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib (referenced as Maxime Prévot in source) confirmed that European diplomats and the mayor of a French city had also been attacked in West Bank settlements. The accumulation of these incidents has effectively placed the issue of the safety of foreign representatives in the West Bank at the center of the diplomatic agenda. ### Israel's position: "Israeli rioters" The Israeli side responded to the incidents differently. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar labeled those responsible for the attack as "Israeli rioters," effectively distancing the state from the actions of the perpetrators. Furthermore, he claimed that the diplomats should have coordinated their movements with the Israeli military during their visit to the region. Thus, Tel Aviv is shifting the focus from state responsibility for security to the need for coordination by foreign missions, a stance that diverges from the position held by Washington and Beijing, both of which demand systemic measures from Israel. ### Beijing's call: two-state solution On the same day, October 17, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on Israel to stop and reverse the establishment of settlements in the West Bank. He emphasized that a two-state solution remains the only viable path to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He described the Palestinian issue as the "greatest injustice in history," adding that Israel must stop the forced construction of new settlements. China's position thus aligns with the U.S. demand in substance, though it was phrased in more rigid ideological terms. ### Context: rising settlements and violence According to reports from the United Nations and independent monitoring organizations, the Israeli government had approved the creation of 54 new settlements and 86 additional outposts in the West Bank by 2025. Over the same period, according to the same sources, the number of violent incidents against Palestinians in the area has significantly increased. This data forms the background for the appeals from both Washington and Beijing: both sides point to a sustained dynamic of settlement expansion and rising violence, demanding a policy review from Tel Aviv. The discrepancies in assessing responsibility for specific incidents—between Israel calling the perpetrators "rioters" and the U.S./China demanding state-level measures—remain a key point of contention in the ongoing diplomatic exchange. ## Accounts differ ### Responsibility for the attacks on journalists and diplomats and required action - **U.S. (Secretary of State Marco Rubio):** Israel must take decisive action against settler attacks ([vietnam.vn](https://www.vietnam.vn/ru/my-va-trung-quoc-yeu-cau-israel-xem-xet-lai-chinh-sach-o-bo-tay)) - **Israel (Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar):** The perpetrators are "Israeli rioters," and diplomats should have coordinated their actions with the Israeli military during their visit ([vietnam.vn](https://www.vietnam.vn/ru/my-va-trung-quoc-yeu-cau-israel-xem-xet-lai-chinh-sach-o-bo-tay)) *Where they agree:* Attacks on journalists and diplomats in West Bank settlements occurred—this is acknowledged by all parties ## Fact-Check & Sources - [США и Китай призывают Израиль пересмотреть свою политику на Западном берегу.](https://www.vietnam.vn/ru/my-va-trung-quoc-yeu-cau-israel-xem-xet-lai-chinh-sach-o-bo-tay) - Single source; quotes from Rubio, Wang Yi, Sa'ar, and UN data are based on the Times of Israel. No independent second source is provided. ## FAQ ### What did U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio demand from Israel? Rubio stated that the U.S. is "deeply concerned" about the situation, has reached out to Israel, and demanded decisive measures against settler attacks in the West Bank. ### What did Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi call for regarding settlements? Wang Yi called on Israel to stop and reverse settlement creation in the West Bank, calling the two-state solution the only viable path to resolution. ### How did Israel respond to the attacks on diplomats and journalists? Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar referred to the perpetrators as "Israeli rioters" and claimed the diplomats should have coordinated their visit with Israeli military forces. ### How many new settlements and outposts has Israel approved by 2025, according to the UN? According to UN and independent reports, 54 new settlements and 86 additional outposts in the West Bank had been approved by 2025.