Hatred remains ‘dangerous weapon in hands of politicians,’ Gantz tells Rabin memorial

“Hatred has again become a dangerous weapon in the hands of politicians without limits,” Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz charges.

By Adina Katz, World Israel News 

Tens of thousands of Israelis attended the annual rally at Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square marking 24 years since the assassination of late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

Rabin was murdered by a right-wing extremist on November 4, 1995 during a pro-peace rally in Tel Aviv.

Addressing the crowd, Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz said, “Twenty-four years, Yitzhak Rabin is no longer with us, but incitement raises its ugly head… and hatred has again become a dangerous weapon in the hands of politicians without limits.”

Gantz is currently in negotiations to create a coalition, led by his center-left party, following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s failure to attain the minimum 61 seats for a Likud-led government.

Gantz vowed “to stand here next year with the head of the opposition, to stand here together, even if we disagree deeply on many things, to give a joint message of Israeli hope and unity.”

“As prime minister, I will work toward and ensure that this rally becomes a state event,” he stated.

The event followed increasing rocket attacks at southern Israel, launched from Gaza. In a further jab at Netanyahu, Gantz said:

“In the government that I will form, we will restore deterrence, by any means available to us. Hamas leaders will be held personally responsible. Hamas headquarters will be destroyed and the time of showing restraint will come to an end if there is not complete quiet in the south.

“We will restore deterrence and we will know how to fight, but we will also know how to utilize that deterrence to restore hope. Just as Yitzhak Rabin had done,” he said.