Call to prosecute Bennett for killing Palestinians

The parliamentary bloc for the National Democratic Rally has asked the legal advisor to the Israeli government to launch an investigation into comments made by right-wing politician and Minister of the Economy Naftali Bennett. The bloc cited Bennett’s “racism and incitement against the Palestinian people”. The minister implied in recent comments that Palestinian prisoners should be killed and not tried. Bennett said that he sees no problem in killing Arabs and admitted that he has killed many himself.

Although he did not deny the statements reported by the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, it was claimed that they were made during a heated government debate regarding the deal to release a number of Palestinian high-security prisoners.

The letter to the government’s legal advisor was signed by Dr Jamal Zahalka, Haneen al-Zoubi and Dr Basel Ghattas; they claim that Bennett’s comments constitute deliberate incitement towards the Palestinian people, both inside and beyond the Green Line, and clearly called for the use of violence against them. This, they insisted, has to be put in the context of widespread hatred and violence towards Israel’s Arab citizens and those in the occupied West Bank carried out by gangs of settlers in so-called Price Tag attacks.

The bloc asked the attorney to denounce Bennett’s statements clearly and declare them to be illegal. A quick investigation is needed, the say, due to his high profile and degree of influence.