Berlin /PNN/

 German Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock today expressed sympathy with the Palestinian victims of the settler pogrom in the occupied West Bank town of  Huwwara.

“Our sympathy... goes out to the victims of the revenge actions, the retaliatory actions in the city of Huwara Houses and cars were set alight, innocent families were left in a state of shock and fear,” Baerbock stated according to some press statements.

She made her remarks during a joint press conference with her Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen in Berlin.

On Sunday night, hundreds of settlers attacked Palestinian villages and towns in the northern West Bank, setting Huwwara town ablaze after two settler brothers were shot dead in the town, the epicenter of the vigilante mob’s violent rage.

At least one Palestinian was killed and nearly 400 wounded in hours-long rampage on Huwwara and other attacks on West Bank towns and villages, Palestinian health officials said. Settlers completely burnt down at least 35 homes and 40 others were partially damaged, and many of the buildings were set on fire while their Palestinian inhabitants sheltered inside. More than 100 cars were burnt or otherwise destroyed.

Baerbock expressed her concern over the Israeli occupation authorities’ plan to introduce a death penalty for Palestinians convicted in deadly attacks.

She described the move as “a big mistake” and noted that her country opposes the death penalty everywhere and argued that it has proven ineffective as a deterrent.

“We oppose the death penalty from the depth of our beliefs and we raise that issue everywhere we go in the United States and Japan, just as much as in Saudi Arabia and Iran,” she said.