Settlers not happy about Hagai Amir's visit
Brother of Rabin's assassin, who was released from prison after 16.5 years, is set to spend first Sabbath with relatives in Shavei Shomron, but residents say he is persona non grata
After being released from prison on Friday morning, Hagai Amir, the brother of Yitzhak Rabin's assassin Yigal Amir, made his way to the settlement of Shavei Shomron, where he will spend his first Sabbath as a free man.
However, residents of the West Bank settlement were far from thrilled to hear about their guest, some hung signs reading: "Thou shalt not murder" and "murder is not our way" near the house where Amir will stay.
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One resident told Ynet that "if Amir was looking for nice scenery and clean air, there are plenty of other places he can visit.
"We know that it is a private visit, but this is a guest that we wouldn't mind not having, and we hope he doesn’t choose to stay here," he said.
The Shavei Shomron resident added that Amir's visit "can only harm us, and we obviously renounce anything that has to do with Rabin's murder and anything that Hagai represents, especially in light of the fact that he did not express remorse and continues to take pride in what he did."
Amitai Amir, Hagai's brother, responded to the residents' objections, saying: "They can hang all the signs they like and they can object, we don’t care. This is a completely private visit and they have no authority to tell us not to come."
'Thou shall not murder' (Photo: Tzadok Levy)
Earlier, upon greeting his brother at Ayalon Prison, Amitai said: "We feel as though we are in a dream. Hagai is thrilled, and we are teaching him all the things he missed, like what is a Smartphone."
The brother also wrote on his Facebook page: "Give thanks to the lord for he is good. We're tired of hypocrites. Without roots or faith you are doomed to wither like a dry leaf.
"Paid his debt to society – not when it comes to the Amir brothers. The rule of law and the court – not when it comes to the Amir brothers. Humanitarian human rights – not when it comes to the Amir brothers. But resolve and faith always prevail."
Also on Friday, Labor faction leader Isaac Herzog called Amir's release "horrifying," adding that it "reminds us that there are dark forces among us that threaten to destroy democracy and harm the nation and its citizens."
Labor party chairwoman Shelly Yachimovich also commented on his release, saying that the sign of victory gestured by Hagai Amir "provokes nausea and disgust.
"The absence of remorse in his words as he left prison Friday morning, suggests that the seeds of violent radicalism that challenge Israeli democracy still lie within us and continue to threaten the Israeli society."
Moran Azulay and Raanan Ben-Zur contributed to this report
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