Gov't mulls deeming far-Right violence 'terror'
Justice Minister Yaakov Ne'eman holds special meeting following escalation in far-Right violence, as gov't explores legal options against offenders
The meeting was called following Tuesday's raid of an IDF base by settlers protesting the impending eviction of the Ramat Gilad outpost, and the torching of a mosque in Jerusalem on Wednesday.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked Justice Minister Yaakov Ne'eman to head a team which will offer recommendations on how to deal with the violent phenomenon.
The debate will examine whether such violent acts should be defined as acts of terror, making their perpetrators terrorists.
Ne'eman is expected submit his conclusions and legal recommendations to both Netanyahu and Attorney general Yehuda Weinstein.
The Ephraim Brigade base on Tuesday (Photo: Yoav Zitun)
The meeting's participants stressed that the group in question was a small on, and that their actions – which must be dealt with harshly – do not represent the settlers' community.
Legal issues
Such measures, however, are bound to meet legal scrutiny, since no one knows at this point if the violent acts are instigated by one specific group or are the work of individuals.
The team said that those indicted in connection with such acts will face harsher charges than they do today.
The team is also likely to recommend the use of technological measures to document riots or acts of aggression by far-Right extremists.
Senior Justice Ministry officials said they were shocked by the Ramat Gilad events: "There is no doubt that what happened (in Ramat Gilad) crossed a red line and that we must fight against this dangerous phenomenon."
Another official added: "The justice minister, as well as senior state prosecution officials, will do whatever is in their power to battle against this alarming trend, the consequences of which we saw yesterday."
"We will do whatever it takes so that an event of that type will not repeat itself and we will use whichever legal measures are at our disposal," they added.
Meanwhile, there has been universal condemnation of the violence on all sides of the political map. Those condemning Tuesday's violence also denounced the torching of an abandoned Jerusalem mosque on Tuesday night.
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat strongly denounced the attempted arson: "We must show zero-tolerance for any kind of violence and maintain the coexistence in the city," he said.
Moran Azulay, Aviel Magnezi and Omri Efraim contributed to this report
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