MK Pines-Paz: Attack on Prof. Sternhell act of terror

"There are violent forces operating within Israel," said Knesset Member Ophir Pines-Paz (Labor-Meimad) on Thursday during an Internal Affairs Committee meeting that discussed the recent attack on Prof. Ze'ev Sternhell and the threats made against left-wing activist.

"(These forces) don't hesitate taking the law into their own hands and try to assassinate anyone standing in their way," he added.

Prof. Sternhell was mildly injured last week when a pipe bomb placed on his driveway blew up.

"We deal with the terror emanating from the Palestinian side, but one can't help but get the feeling that we are too forgiving of grave violence, terror acts even, emanating from the Jewish side.

"We are calling this an act of terror because that is precisely what it is, especially when it pertains to an ideological debate on the direction Israel is going," continued Pines-Paz. "We have to take very firm action. These are terrorists – Jewish, but terrorists just the same."

Prof. Sternhell told the Knesset's Internal Affairs Committee "this is a crime and criminals must be apprehended and dealt with.

"I know these people are harder to catch than Arabs or your average felons… mentally, I know it's harder to prosecute a fine young man guilty of nothing more than smashing a windshield or uprooting some olive trees," he said. "I have no complaints against the police or the army, but they cannot act unless they are backed by the government."

Assigning blame

MK David Rotem (Yisrael Beiteinu), asked the committee to consider another side to the event. Beginning his address with a fierce condemnation of the attack on Sternhell, he added that he had to "equally condemn the 'Strenhell festival' we have all witnessed in the past 10 days.

"The settlers have been blamed and reproached for this act time and again, but does anyone really know who was responsible? I agree that we should make every effort to catch who ever did this… but the public has had enough of Peace Now and all the calls to evacuate Judea and Samaria… it took this attack to give them headlines again," said Rotem.

MK Zahava Gal-On, chairwoman of the Meretz faction responded by saying that "a simple condemnation cannot suffice in this case. This attack was the result of law enforcement agencies collectively turning a blind eye because they are afraid of the settlers, who have representatives in the hubs of power, legitimizing their actions.

"It bothers me that for years Israel as been oblivious to the crimes portrayed by the Right," she concluded.

MK Dov Khenin (Hadash) added that he saw "a direct connection between the misfortunes of occupation and what is going on in the midst of Israeli society. It's saddens me to hear MK Rotem just shrug off his camps responsibility for the events."