Netanyahu vows justice for Barkan terror attack victims
The prime minister promises to 'catch the abhorrent murderer and we will settle accounts with him'; during event on the Golan Heights, Netanyahu adds that 'Israel in the Golan is a fact the international community must recognize, otherwise Iran and Hezbollah will be on the shores of the Kinneret.'
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Monday night to bring to justice the terrorist who murdered Kim Levengrond Yehezkel and Ziv Hagbi at the Barkan industrial zone.
We will catch the abhorrent murderer and we will settle accounts with him. The blood of Israeli citizens will not be spilled in vain," Netanyahu said during the dedication of the national heritage site at Ein Keshatot (Umm el-Qanatir) in the Golan Heights.
The historical site was restored and renovated over the past 15 years at the investment of some NIS 30 million.
On the other side of the Golan border, Netanyahu said, "there's uncontrolled barbarism and attempts by Iran and Hezbollah for establish (military) presence there."
"We will continue to act with determination against Iran's attempts to open an additional front against us on the Golan Heights, and in Syria we will act against all attempts to transfer lethal weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon," he added.
"I will discuss these matters with President Putin when I meet with him soon," the prime minister said, adding that "I know that President Putin understands ... the importance that I ascribe to the Golan Heights, that we all ascribe to the Golan Heights and to the heritage of Israel."
Netanyahu stressed that "Israel on the Golan Heights is a guarantee for stability in the surrounding area ... Israel on the Golan Heights is a fact that the international community must recognize. As long as it depends on me the Golan Heights will always remain under Israeli sovereignty because otherwise we would have Iran and Hezbollah on the shores of the Kinneret."
Earlier, Education Minister Naftali Bennett, who is also a member of the Security Cabinet, criticized Israel's security policy. "I think we need to make a very significant and quick change to Israel's security policy and restore the deterrence," Bennett said at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS).
He complained that homes of other Israelis murdered in terror attacks—Ari Fuld, Ronen Lubarsky, Yanai Weissman, Asher Hasano—have not been demolished yet. "102 homes of murderers of Israelis, which had their measurements taken, are still standing. We need to demolish the homes, go from talking about deterrence to creating deterrence. I plan to act to restore deterrence with clear actions," Bennett vowed.
