The Israel Victory Project, together with the Knesset Israel Victory Caucus, held a discussion on holding the Palestinian Authority, especially its senior officials, directly responsible for its murderous incitement.
During the caucus meeting on Tuesday, new evidence was presented against senior P.A. official Jibril Rajoub on incitement to murder. Caucus co-chairs and Knesset members Oded Forer and Elazar Stern introduced practical measures that Israel will take against the P.A. for its rejectionism and violent incitement.
One of the measures is Stern’s bill, which passed its first reading at the Knesset yesterday. It calls for offsetting funds that are transferred to the P.A. by Israel for its support of terrorism, especially payments to terrorists and their families, similar to the Taylor Force Act in the United States.
Caucus co-chair and Knesset member Avraham Neguise, and other Knesset and victory caucus members Hamad Amar, Yehuda Glick, Yulia Malinovsky, Anat Berko and Nurit Koren also attended the meeting to lend support to this cause.
New evidence against Jibril Rajoub was presented by Itamar Marcus, founder of the organization Palestinian Media Watch and by Col. (res) Maurice Hirsh, Palestinian Media Watch’s Head of Legal Strategies, who served for 19 years in the Israel Defense Forces’ MAG Corps, inter alia as head of the Military Prosecution for Judea and Samaria.
Also participating in the discussion were experts, Palestinians and bereaved families whose loved ones were murdered in terror attacks, especially those who lost loved ones after Rajoub’s direct call to attack Israelis. These accounts will be added to an official criminal complaint that will be handed to the Israeli police on their behalf by the Palestinian Media Watch before the end of the week.
The evidence shows that Rajoub explicitly called for attacks against “settlers and soldiers.” In another film that was shown during the event, he described the terrorists responsible for carrying out murderous attacks as “a crown on the heads” of the Palestinian people.
“The evidence clearly demonstrates how incitement among the Palestinian leadership—over the last three terror waves since 1996 until today—has directly affected the violence on the ground,” said Marcus. “For example, during the terror wave of 2015-16, Rajoub was quoted on Palestinian TV saying that these attacks are “acts of heroism made by individuals whom we consider heroes.”
“It is necessary to stop respecting the immunity of senior Palestinian Authority officials for their incitement,” he demanded.
“The evidence against Rajoub constitutes a basis for investigation, prosecution, and conviction,” said Hirsch. “There ought to be an understanding, according to which the Palestinian Authority, and especially senior officials such as Jibril Rajoub, cannot be allowed to promulgate incitement without legal proceedings being instituted against them.”
“Their senior status in the Palestinian society grants their announcements tremendous weight. Turning a blind eye to incitement does not help us reach peace; on the contrary, it generates hate and terrorism. By the end of this week, together with numerous bereaved families who attended the caucus, we will submit a complaint to the police against Rajoub.”
During the event, Forer presented his law, which will allow victims of terrorism and their families to sue the P.A.
“The time has come to stop being content with talks about Palestinian incitement, and to actively and concretely fight it,” said the Knesset member. “Youth raised with the current Palestinian textbooks have been led to believe that Israel is illegitimate. This is proof that incitement is the by-product of the non-recognition of the State of Israel, as the legitimate national homeland of the Jewish People.”
Stern presented his law as a way to combat terrorism. “No matter where we are on the political map, incitement is an obstacle to achieving any of our goals,” he said.
Neguise added that “until the Palestinians move from rejection to recognition of the State of Israel as the national homeland of the Jewish people, any attempt to create genuine peace will fail.”
Ashraf Ja’abari and Mark Halawa also participated in the meeting, representing their positions as Palestinians. They spoke about how prolific and problematic incitement remains under the P.A.
The Israel Victory Project, an initiative of the Middle East Forum, introduces a new paradigm to ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—that a political settlement may be reached only if the Palestinian ends its war of rejectionism to the very existence of Jewish sovereignty.
The project has helped in the creation of two caucuses: one in the Knesset and one in the U.S. Congress. These entities work closely with the public and political spheres to raise awareness of this new paradigm towards ending the conflict.
The Knesset Israel Victory Caucus includes 26 Knesset members from across the political spectrum who believe that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will end only when the Palestinian leadership recognizes Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people, and acknowledges its defeat in the long-lasting war it has waged against Israel.