US Vice President Joe Biden, who is on a trip to Tel Aviv, has assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Washington will “stand firmly behind Israel” amid heightened tensions in the occupied territories.
Biden’s visit to Israel comes amid surging tensions in the occupied lands following Israel’s imposition in August 2015 of restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
On Wednesday, Israeli military forces shot and killed three Palestinians over alleged shooting and stabbing attacks across the Old City of al-Quds as well as the Israeli-occupied West Bank, raising the number of Palestinians killed since last October to about 200.
“There can be no justification for this hateful violence and the United States stands firmly behind Israel’s right to defend itself,” Biden told reporters Wednesday, after meeting with Netanyahu.
He highlighted his deep personal and…