The Prime Minister's first reference to the murder of the Arab boy. "We know very well who is behind the kidnapping and murder of Gil-Ad, Naftali and Eyal - and we will get to them," Netanyahu began, adding: "The murderers left territory under the control of the Palestinian Authority and returned there. Therefore, the Palestinian Authority has the responsibility to do everything to locate them, just as we did, just as Israel's security forces located within a few days the suspects in the murder of the boy Muhammad Abu-Khadir.".
Netanyahu sought to send condolences to the Abu Khdeir family and promised that justice will be served against "those responsible for this shocking crime that deserves every condemnation and denunciation." Netanyahu emphasized that "the place of such murderers is outside Israeli society.".
""This is how we differ from our neighbors," Netanyahu added, "where murderers are welcomed as heroes and squares are named after them. This is not the only difference between us. In our country, we bring the instigators to justice, while incitement in the Palestinian Authority is done through official media outlets and the education system. This is incitement that is essentially a call for the destruction of Israel.".
I do not distinguish between terror and terrorism, and we will deal with both with a heavy hand. I do not distinguish between incitement and incitement within the State of Israel, just as I strongly condemn cries of 'death to the Arabs' - I condemn cries of 'death to the Jews.'.
The Prime Minister mentioned the Arab Israeli student who wrote on his Facebook page after the announcement of the discovery of the bodies, "Three zeros for Palestine, and we're not even in the World Cup," and said he was shocked to hear that. According to him, the mentality and wickedness of statements of this kind come from the same place that made the murder of the boy possible.
Send: More dangerous than the terror coming from outside
Economy Minister Naftali Bennett addressed the arrests and recent developments in the investigation into the murder of the teenager Muhammad Abu Khdeir and said: "The murder of the teenager is a heinous, anti-moral and anti-Jewish act. We will demand that the Terrorist Law that we have introduced be applied also to the murderers who committed it.".
Intelligence Minister Dr. Yuval Steinitz wished to congratulate the security forces on "arresting the suspects in the shocking murder of an innocent Arab teenager. Murder is murder, whether the murdered person is Jewish or Arab." Steinitz added that "the State of Israel is doing well to work to apprehend and punish the murderers - whether it is the murderers of the three Jewish teenagers, the murderers of the girl Shelly Dadon from Afula, or the murderers of an Arab teenager from Jerusalem.".
MK Ofer Shelah, chairman of the Yesh Atid faction, said: "The murders on nationalistic grounds are terrorism, more threatening and dangerous than terrorism coming from outside. They endanger the most basic fabric of our lives, because in every possible situation Jews and Arabs will live here, side by side. The criminals must be punished as terrorists for all intents and purposes, but it is no less important to immediately stop fanning the flames. Ministers and Knesset members have been riding the tiger of hatred and feelings of revenge in recent days and cynically spurring it on, with clear knowledge of the damage they are causing. This needs to stop immediately, so that we can begin to heal the wounds.".
""Murder is murder," said Dr. Aliza Lavie [Yesh Atid] and called out: "Enough with murder in children's playgrounds. We must be careful in every way to maintain the purity of our actions, and avoid harming innocent people. Emotional actions taken out of rage and hostility do not achieve the required goals.
"It is our duty as a people to act with the severity of the law and cleanse our camp of these distorted marginal elements. Morality is not a legal cloak imposed on us by force, but a system of values embedded in our national DNA and obligates us all to courses of action that meet its requirements from time immemorial. Top priority must be given to investigating the murder of the child Muhammad Abu Khdeir from Shuafat and to bringing the murderers to justice.".
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