U.S. Ambassador to Israel Admits His Criticism Was Poorly Timed

JERUSALEM (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to Israel (above left) has acknowledged “the timing was not the best” after criticizing Israel’s approach to settler violence in remarks delivered on the day an Israeli woman fatally stabbed by a Palestinian was laid to rest.

Daniel Shapiro said at a conference last week that despite recent indictments against Jewish suspects in a deadly arson against Palestinians, there seemed at times to be “two standards of adherence to the rule of law: one for Israelis and another for Palestinians.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Shapiro’s comments were “unacceptable” on the day Israelis buried Dafna Meir, a mother of six slain in her West Bank home.

Speaking to Israeli Army Radio on Monday, U.S. ambassador Shapiro said: “if I God forbid hurt the Meir family … of course I regret it.”