Israel's Official Incitement: July 2022
Israel's Official Incitement: July 2022
I. Against President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Leadership
Itamar Ben Gvir – Member of the Knesset for the Religious Zionism party (Twitter, 08 July 2022) [1]
“Gantz proves again that he is completely left. He meets with the main terrorist and holocaust denier, Abu Mazen[2]. When the Muslim Brotherhood’s[3] government is in power, they will meet with Abu Mazen, will sit with the Joint list and hurt the security of the state. We will be the only ones to stop them! The security of the state above all”
Benjamin Netanyahu – Member of the Knesset for the Likud party (Facebook, 08 July 2022) [4]
“The Likud: After a decade where Netanyahu removed the Palestinian issue from the international agenda, Lapid and Gantz are bringing back Abu Mazen, who doesn’t stop inciting for the murder of Israelis, to the international stage. Lapid secured a government with the Muslim Brotherhood[5] and the Joint List, and that is why he is committed to Abu Mazen (…)”
Avi Dicter – Member of the Knesset for the Likud party (Facebook, 08 July 2022)
“A transitional government is not a mandate to break the law! After he gave billions of ILS as a grant to the Palestinians[6] so that they can pay salaries to terrorists[7], the Minister of Defense again went to Ramallah – and not a word about stopping payment to terrorists (…)”
Avi Dicter – Member of the Knesset for the Likud party (Facebook, 16 July 2022)
“We and the Americans know – there is no partner on the Palestinian side. Mahmoud Abbas, who passed a law on salaries for terrorists first[8], is not a partner in any process. We will keep Israel the safe and prosperous national state of the Jewish people.”
Itamar Ben Gvir – Member of the Knesset for the Religious Zionism party (Twitter, 29 July 2022)
“Benny Gantz, the enemy of the settlement, the darling of the PA[9], continues to serve the interests of his friend, the terrorist Abu Mazen[10](…)”
Regavim organization[11] (Facebook, 24 July 2022)
“While in the state of the Jews, under the orders of Security Minister Benny Gantz, they arrested innocent settlers, demanded their IDs, and physically prevented their advancement, using resources that we haven’t seen in years – only to prevent the advancement to three new points. Not private land, not Area A, nor Area B[12].At the same exact time, the PA is launching an attractive new campaign: Take over Israeli state land, and you will receive a tractor license for free. Build a state of terrorism that will lead to an increase in attacks, and you will receive a license for a tractor (…)”[13]
Orit Strock – Member of the Knesset for the Religious Zionism party (Twitter, 21 July 2022) [14]
“Benny Gantz is working towards a Palestinian state, any way he can.
To that end, he is even recruiting the Abraham accords and the terrorism fund that he transfers to Abu Mazen, and of course the thousands of soldiers and police officers he sent this week to fight the new settlements of Nachala movement[15] (…)”
II. Against the Indigenous Palestinian Citizens of Israel
Itamar Ben Gvir – Member of the Knesset for the Religious Zionism party (Twitter, 06 July 2022) [16]
“Dr. Michael Ben Ari[17], a true patriot, Zionist by blood, and all of his children are fighters in the IDF[18] – he was eliminated from the elections. But Ofer Kasif, Ahmad Tibi, Ayman Odeh[19] and the terrorist group[20] in the Knesset – those they approve. Hypocrisy at its best!(…)”
Avi Dicter – Member of the Knesset for the Likud party (Facebook, 21 July 2022)
“Prisoners from jail to Ramallah[21]! I congratulate the Supreme Court’s decision on annulling the citizenship of Israeli terrorists[22], which marks the beginning.” This government voted against my bill proposal that annuls the citizenship of convicted terrorists who receives monthly salaries from the PA. The party that the Israeli terrorists are having will end when the Likud comes back to power[23]. We will pass my bill, and Israeli terrorists who were released from jail will go straight to their employers in the PNA (…).”
Eli Cohen – Member of the Knesset for the Likud party (Facebook[24], 21 July 2022)
“I congratulate the court’s decision allowing the annulment of terrorists’ citizenship. The next step: When we are back in power, I intend to re-propose my bill on the deportation of terrorists’ families[25] from Israel.”
Shlomo Karhi – Member of the Knesset for the Likud party (Facebook, 20 July 2022) [26]
“What is Gantz afraid of? Who is Lapid protecting? Since the damned disengagement[27] there hasn’t been such expansive and delusional warrants than this. On the one hand they abandon the settlement’s sequence between Jerusalem and Gush Ezion[28], and allow Arabs[29] to seize control over Judea and Samaria[30], and on the other hand, they prevent Jews from settling the land with force (…)”
Eli Cohen – Member of the Knesset for the Likud party (Facebook, 26 July 2022)
“Whoever is convicted for terrorism[31] needs to have his visitations revoked[32], and an MK who would like to visit terrorists is welcomed to be a parliament member in Gaza[33].”
Im Tirtzu movement[34] (Twitter, 25 July 2022) [35]
“In the state of Israel there are post-Zionist ministers[36] who are working for the PA and its representatives, the terrorism supporters in the Knesset[37].
(…)What is the message they are sending to the police officers here? Will you arrest the terrorists, and those who support them will come and cheer them on? This government is danger for Israel.”
III. Additional Examples
Orit Strock – Member of the Knesset for the Religious Zionism party (Twitter, 10 July 2022)
“Biden’s visit to the Augusta Victoria[38] without a formal Israeli representative – is an unprecedented agreement by Israel to the division of Jerusalem, and a shame to the ministers who were elected with the votes of the right[39] (…)”
Shlomo Karhi – Member of the Knesset for the Likud party (Facebook, 10 July 2022) [40]
“A Palestinian state is a disaster to Israel. Lapid and Gantz are trying to use the four transitional months to drag us there by force, after that in the last decade, Netanyahu and the Likud have left the issue behind (…)”
Miri Regev – Member of the Knesset for the Likud party (Facebook, 14 July 2022)
“We all know that in a 15-minute meeting of Netanyahu with President Biden, he will do much more than Lapid or Bennett can do in hours. We will not allow for Jerusalem to be divided, we will not reach a hand to the idea of two states for two people – Lapid will (…)”
Ofir Akunis - Member of the Knesset for the Likud party (Facebook, 15 July 2022)
“(…) our political rivals[41] have shed their masks and they are proudly supporting a terrorist Palestinian state in the heart of the country on the one hand, but they adopt Netanyahu's approach towards the Iranian issue [42](…)”
Benyamin Netanyahu – Member of the Knesset for the Likud party (Facebook, 27 July 2022)
“I salute the wonderful pioneering residents[43] of Mitzpe Kramim[44], and I am happy regarding decision of the High Court of Justice regarding the settlement[45]. Together with our partners in the nationalist camp[46], we will establish a strong nationalist government that will definitively approve the settlement and will work towards its prosperity and the establishment of young and older settlements in all of our land.”
Betzalel Smotrich – Member of the Knesset for the Religious Zionism party (Twitter, 12 July 2022) [47]
“Lapid, Gantz, and Sa’ar[48] demonstrate how quickly they will run towards the establishment of an Arab terrorist state[49] in the heart of Israel, if God forbids, they get the change to do so after the elections (…)”
Benjamin Netanyahu – Member of the Knesset for the Likud party (Facebook, 14 July 2022) [50]
“Lapid and Gantz are taking us back to the dangerous policy of surrendering and compromising with the Palestinians[51]. The only answer is to vote for the Likud, so that we can establish a strong nationalist government that will protect Israel.”
[1] In the context of the meeting between the Israeli Minister of “Defense” Benjamin Gantz and Palestine’s President Mahmoud Abbas on 7 July prior to the visit of US President Joe Biden
[2] In reference to Palestine’s President Mahmoud Abbas
[3] In reference to the United Arab List party
[4] In the context of the visit of US President Joe Biden. MK Netanyahu implies that the meeting between the Palestinian and the American Presidents is bringing the Palestinian issue back into the international agenda after being neglected for years.
[5] In reference to the United Arab List party
[6] As reported by Israeli news, Gantz offered 500 NIS to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) as a loan to face its financial crisis during his meeting with Palestine's President Mahmoud Abbas in August 2021. (For more, see Times of Israel
[7] In reference to social allowances paid by PNA to Palestinian prisoners, martyrs, and their families.
[8] Ibid
[9] In reference to the Palestinian National Authority
[10] In reference to the meetings that were held between Israel’s “Defense” Minister Benjamin Gantz and Palestine’s President Mahmoud Abbas.
[11] A right-wing settler organization
[12] This post is in response to an attempt by the "Nachala" far-right settlement movement, whose mission is to increase Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, to establish 5 new settlement installations (outposts) across the occupied West Bank. In response, the Israeli army forced the settlers to evacuate the outposts. (For more, see Ha’aretz)
[13] This post is in response to a post by Hanan Greenwood, a journalist in the Yisrael Hayom newspaper. In his comment on the evacuation of Nachala’s settlers, Greenwood claimed that Palestinians are "stealing" what is their own land. He claims that while Israel is evacuating settlers and preventing the Jewish takeover of (Palestinian) lands in Area C, the PNA has launched a campaign calling on Palestinian farmers to start doing so in Area C with a worthy return of renewing their tractor’s driving license for free in order to work the land and to turn it into a private one.
[14] Following a report by Israel Channel 7 that the Minister of "Defense" claimed the Abraham Accords would help separate the Palestinians from Israel.
[15] Nachala is a settler's movement that was established in 2005 and promotes the creation of new settlement installations (outposts) in what they call "Great Israel." Daniella Weis, the leader of the Nachala movement, organized dozens of settlers and decided not to wait for government approval to build new settlements but to do it themselves, establishing five new installations at an undisclosed location in Area C in the occupied West Bank (also see footnote 12).
[16] MK Itamar Ben Gvir responds to Ben Ari's tweet in which he posted a picture of his son and talked about his military achievements. MK Ben Gvir suggests that Ben Ari is better qualified to be in the Knesset since he serves in the army and pays his dues to the state while the Joint List MKs oppose military service and therefore cannot compare to Ben Ari.
[17] Michael Ben Ari is an Israeli politician and former member of the Knesset for the National Union party. He is a far-right wing politician and was banned by an Israeli court from running in the 2019 elections.
[18] In reference to Israeli occupation forces
[19] MKs of the Joint List party
[20] In the reference to the United Arab List party
[21] In reference to Palestinian prisoners’ citizens of Israel who completed their sentence/ released
[22] Israel's Supreme Court ruled that authorities can revoke citizenship from people who commit "terror" attacks and other crimes against the State of Israel that constitute a breach of trust.’ The decision targets Palestinian citizens of Israel who are incarcerated in Israeli prisons.
[23] MK Dicter claims that the Palestinian prisoners’ citizens of Israel enjoy good prison conditions and get social allowances from the PNA and still keep their Israeli citizenship. MK Dicter describes this claim as a "party"
[24] The post was later deleted
[25] In reference to families of Palestinian prisoners’ citizens of Israel.
[26] See footnote 12
[27] In reference to Israel’s Unilateral Disengagement Plan of 2005; when Israel evacuated 21 illegal settlements in the Gaza Strip along with 4 settlements in the northern occupied West Bank.
[28] A cluster of settlements located in the south of occupied Jerusalem
[29] In reference to Palestinians
[30] In reference to the occupied West Bank of the State of Palestine
[31] In reference to the Palestinian political prisoners
[32] Regarding the visitations of Palestinian Arab MKs to Palestinian prisoners
[33] In February, Minister of Public Security Omer Barlev granted Palestinian Arab MKs from the Joint List permission to visit Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons. Right-wing parties in the opposition criticized this decision as "terrorism support."
[34] An Israeli right-wing Zionist organization
[35] In response to the tweet of Israeli journalist Amir Ettinger, from Yisrael Hayom newspaper, MKs from the Joint List will be able to visit political Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons under an agreement formed between the Minister of Public Security and the Head of the Knesset Mikey Levy from Yesh Atid party.
[36] In reference to Omer Barlev and Mickey Levy
[37] In reference to MKs from the Joint List party
[38] US President Joe Biden visited the Augusta Victoria hospital in occupied Jerusalem without the presence of Israeli guards. Prior to the visit, some of the right-wing parties in the opposition refused the US request, considering it an act of division of Jerusalem. The Augusta Victoria Hospital is a church-hospital complex on the northern side of Mount of Olives in occupied East Jerusalem and one of six hospitals in the East Jerusalem Hospitals Network.
[39] Referring to the right-wing parties in the current coalition, such as Yemina and New Hope
[40] Israel Hayom website reported that right-wing parties were concerned about the regulation of what they called "Palestinian illegal outposts" as a gesture to the Palestinians before the visit of Biden. MK Karhi considered this a catastrophe for Israel, as it would lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state.
[41] Referring to the current government members.
[42] MK Akunis implies that the government followed MK Benjamin Netanyahu's policies towards Iran, but not his policies towards the Palestinians, since he opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state.
[43] In reference to Israel’s illegal settlers
[44] A settlement installation (outpost) established on Palestinian private land located on a mountain ridge at the eastern gateway of occupied Jerusalem overlooking the Jordan Valley.
[45] The Palestinian owners of the land from Deir Jarir filed a petition at Israel's Supreme Court for the evacuation of this installation (outpost) in 2011. Jerusalem District Court ruled in 2018 that the settlement doesn't need to be razed since it was built "in good faith" and the residents have rights to the property. The decision was based on a policy known as "market regulation" that is used in Israeli law, under which building rights are granted only when the building is up and settlers are living there. A Supreme Court ruling from August 2020 overturned this decision, but on 27 July 2022 the court reversed its own decision and allowed the installation to remain.
[46] Referring to the right-wing parties in opposition
[47] According to MK Smotrich, the PM's office approved Palestinian constructions in Area C as a gesture to US President Joe Biden while rejecting construction permits for Jews in occupied Jerusalem. According to Israel, Palestinian construction in the Oslo-defined "Area C" of the occupied West Bank, an integral part of the State of Palestine, is illegal.
[48] Minister of Justice Gideon Sa’ar
[49] In reference to the State of Palestine
[50] MK Netanyahu commenting on a news report by Israeli Channel 7, which stated that as a gesture for the visit of US President Joe Biden, PM Lapid, and Minister of “Defense” Gantz would disconnect the cluster of illegal settlements of “Gush Etzion” from Jerusalem for the establishment of the Palestinian state.
[51] In reference to Oslo Interim Accords