MK Ahmed Tibi Eulogizes Terrorists from Shechem — And Jews Yawn

Ahmed Tibi, who has lectured to students in the Palestinian Authority on the glory of being a shaheed (martyr) stood up in the Knesset yesterday (8 Feb) to eulogize three terrorists taken out in Shechem. He said (my translation):

Honoured Chair and my fellow Member of the Knesset: We were sadly notified about the elimination and execution of three Palestinians in Shechem — Shohada Adam Shishanim, Mohammed abu Ra’ed and Rashad Inbaslat. These eliminations and executions are acts of terror according to international law. Ending the occupation alone will bring an end to the violence and not these eliminations that . . . This last execution is the most heinous, the most callous, the bloodiest of the past few years. This government and this coalition in all its parts bear responsibility for this deterioration.

In this case, Tibi was condemning the killing of three of a group of four terrorists from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades (or the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, according to other sources) who were suspected as being responsible for a number of shooting attacks in Judea-Samaria. Apparently, the intention was to arrest them, but officers of the counter-terrorism unit claim they saw the terrorists getting ready to shoot them and they shot first. The Times of Israel reported that the group was on its way to commit another attack.

Matan Peleg, CEO of the rightwing organization Im Tirtzu responded to the speech, suggesting that Tibi’s place is in the Parliament in Gaza and not in Israel:

There are no more excuses. . . . We call on all members of the Knesset to turn to the Attorney General and request an immediate criminal investigation regarding his support for terror and identification with the armed opposition against the State of Israel.

A clear piece of evidence for this investigation should the Attorney General actually order one is readily available:  While serving as Deputy Speaker of the Knesset in 2011, with a Hamas scarf wrapped around his neck, Tibi addressed an official event that took place in the Palestinian Authority. Standing before a large crowd of people who likely want Israel eliminated, Tibi told them that “There is no higher value than Shahada (death for Allah)!”

Tibi told the audience that martyrdom leads to freedom. Finally, he blessed the martyrs, including the martyrs he said reside within the green line, meaning within the part of Israel over which there is international consensus regarding its legitimacy.

There have been attempts in the past to rescind the candidacy of those who have openly supported terrorists but the courts reversed the decisions of the Knesset committee responsible for this.

Will Israel let this moment also pass with a yawn?