Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has proposed a bill that would suspend three Palestinian members of the Knesset, including Hanin Zoabi, after they visited relatives of alleged Palestinian attackers.
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The prime minister asked Attorney General Amichai Rosenblitt to look into legal action that would prevent people who act in this way from serving in the Knesset.
They observed a moment of silence for the attackers at the meeting, drawing ire from other Knesset members from across the political spectrum.
But, Netanyahu is focusing on the fact that some of the Palestinians killed by Israeli forces were suspected to have intentionally attacked Israelis to unsettle the Joint List MKs’ positions in governement. If members of either the U.S. Congress or the U.K. Parliament had met with white nationalist groups, the response to those officials would not be favorable, either, Netanyahu said at the opening of a weekly cabinet meeting early Sunday.
Iraqi also mentioned that Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett employs Nathan Nathanson, an Israeli who was a member of the Jewish Underground, considered a “terrorist” organisation by Israel.
One of those terrorists Baha Alian, a young PLO thug, was killed by Israeli policemen arriving at the scene shortly after the attack began.
MKs Haneen Zoabi and Basel Ghattas were suspended for four months, and MK Jamal Zahalka was suspended for two months. If Odeh is indeed that man, he should act swiftly and demand the immediate resignation of his three colleagues, who, even by the most tolerant and forgiving of standards, have now placed themselves squarely in the service of Israel’s murderous enemies.
Just as we wouldn’t tolerate an American senator, say, visiting the families and honoring the memories of Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, the terrorists who had killed 14 of their neighbors and coworkers in the shooting attack in San Bernardino, California, last December, Israel should not put up with its legislators crossing such a flagrant red line.
“Members of Knesset (parliament) who go to comfort the families of terrorists who murdered Israelis do not deserve to be in the Israeli Knesset”, Netanyahu said in a statement late Thursday.
The parliamentarians have said they met with the families to help them get the bodies of their relatives released by authorities. They are often seen as identifying more with Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza than with Israel. Israel has defended the practice based on security concerns, as Palestinian funerals can attract thousands and lead to clashes with security forces.
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According to Adalah’s online database, Palestinian citizens of Israel face dozens of discriminatory laws that limit their access to state resources and muzzle their political expression.
