Settlers want criminal action against ministers

West Bank settlers committee petitions attorney general to file criminal action against Ministers Haim Ramon, Binyamin Ben-Eliezer for incitement, slander against group following Hebron riots
Efrat Weiss

A committee of West Bank settlers petitioned Attorney General Menachem Mazuz on Monday requesting he approve the filing of a criminal action against Ministers Haim Ramon and Binyamin Ben-Eliezer for comments they made on Sunday.

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The petition said, "The horrible incitement in the media and in the Cabinet meeting is reminiscent in its severity only of the dark days of incitement against half the population after the murder of Rabin."

In recent weeks many ministers, including Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, have been criticizing the settlers' behavior following confrontations with security forces during the evacuation of the Federman farm in Hebron, and settlers' violence towards Palestinians in the city.

Following these events, an emergency meeting of the Committee of West Bank settlers was called, and it was decided to file a criminal action against ministers Ramon and Ben-Eliezer for slander and incitement against the group, which the committee says could end in murder.

Attorney General Menachem Mazuz must give his approval before a criminal action can be filed against public servants.

The settlers said a rejection of their petition would be a clear sign of bias, since a settler who argued against IDF soldiers after the demolition of the Federman farm was arrested and questioned.