Netanyahu tries to calm outcry over minister’s remarks on Palestinians

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought on Sunday to soften international outcry over a call by a far-right member of his cabinet for a flashpoint Palestinian village to be “erased”, saying those remarks had been “inappropriate”.
But Netanyahu also pushed back against censure of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, accusing foreign powers of playing down Palestinian violence like the Feb. 26 killing of two Israeli brothers in Huwara village that sparked a settler rampage there.
Smotrich said last week that while he opposed vigilantism, he believed “that Huwara needs to be erased” by Israel.
The U.S. State Department called the comments “irresponsible,” “repugnant” and “disgusting” and said Netanyahu should reject and disavow them.
The U.N. human rights chief said Smotrich had made “an unfathomable statement of incitement to violence”.
With Israeli media speculating that Smotrich, who is due to visit Washington next week, would be snubbed by the U.S. administration and complicate its ties to the Netanyahu government, he offered a retraction on Saturday but no apology.