Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Bennett: The PA is Responsible for the Terorrist Attacks


Elad Benari

Economy Minister and Jewish Home chairman Naftali Bennett said on Monday evening that the Palestinian Authority (PA) bears the responsibility for the latest terror attacks.

"We continue the diplomatic process as if there is no terror, while the Palestinians are continuing the terrorism as if there is no diplomatic process,” he said.

Bennett added, "The claim that the Palestinian Authority is not connected to the attacks explodes in our faces every day. When you educate your children starting in kindergarten to commit acts of terror, when your TV broadcasts paint Jews as monsters, when even Tel Aviv is not on your map, you are a terrorist."

The comments came hours after an officer was wounded in a stabbing attack at the Adam checkpoint, north of Jerusalem.



In another terror attack on Sunday, a bomb exploded on a bus in the central Israeli city of Bat Yam. No passengers were reported injured in that attack, but one police officer with the bomb squad was wounded as he attempted to disarm the device.

In that attack, a great tragedy was avoided because alert passengers who spotted the bomb alerted the driver, who evacuated everybody off the bus.

Meanwhile, statistics released by the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) on Monday show that terror attacks are on the rise, with the cause being the resumed peace talks between Israel and the PA.

The numbers for November 2013, which were released this week, show the highest number of terror attacks this year: 167, up from 82 in July. 

Unlike Bennett, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni said on Sunday that the PA has no connection to the terrorist attacks and that the terrorism should be ignored while talks continue.

“We will not allow criminal terrorists to determine Israel's future. Israel continues to act against terrorism and in this case too, if it is indeed terrorism like it appears, we will do what needs to be done,” said Livni.

At the same time, she stressed, “We owe it to ourselves to exhaust every opportunity to reach an agreement. We will continue to use force against terrorism and promote negotiations that reflect our interests, including security.”

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