Netanyahu: ‘World must condemn Palestinian terror and those who praise it’

“I call on the countries of the world to condemn both the murder and those who praise it,” Netanyahu said after the latest terror attack in Jerusalem, saying Palestinian “mendacity and brazen gall know no bounds.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on countries around the word to condemn Palestinian terrorism and its support by the Palestinian leadership following Friday night’s deadly terror attack in Jerusalem which claimed the life of Israeli Border Policewoman Staff Sgt. Hadas Malka.

“I call on the countries of the world to condemn both the murder and those who praise it, and demand the immediate cessation of Palestinian Authority payments to the families of terrorists, something that only encourages terror,” Netanyahu stated at the beginning of the weekly Cabinet meeting on Sunday.

He slammed the Palestinian leadership for not denouncing the attack while condemning Israel for killing the terrorists.

“Instead of condemning the attack, Fatah – which is headed by Abu Mazen [Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas] – issued a statement in which it condemned the Border Police fighters who killed the terrorists, and praised the murderers as heroes. It seems that mendacity and brazen gall know no bounds. Of course, the Palestinian Authority is refusing to condemn the murder and the same Authority will now pay financial compensation to the murderers’ families,” Netanyahu stated.

Nickolay Mladenov, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, stated earlier that he was appalled by the Palestinian statement.

“Such terrorist acts must be clearly condemned by all. I am appalled that once again some find it appropriate to justify such attacks as ‘heroic.’ They are unacceptable and seek to drag everyone into a new cycle of violence,” he said.

Netanyahu noted the several steps taken by the Jerusalem government to prevent further attacks, including preparing to demolish the terrorists’ homes, the revoking of Palestinian visits in Israel previously approved for the Muslim month of Ramadan, and police reinforcement of security arrangements and checking procedures in the plaza around the Damascus Gate, where the attack occurred.

Heroism and Sacrifice on Behalf of the Nation

According to an initial investigation, Malka fought hard during the attack before succumbing to multiple stab wounds.

Netanyahu eulogized her as “a young person full of life” who was “imbued with a sense of mission of defending the State of Israel.”

“On behalf of the Government and the nation, I would like to send condolences from the depths of my heart to the family of Border Police fighter, the late Hadas Malka. Their grief is our grief; their sorrow is that of the entire nation,” Netanyahu said.

“Hadas was a young person full of life. She was imbued with a sense of mission of defending the State of Israel. Her commanders and those under her command loved her and trusted her. Like their comrade-in-arms, the late Hadar Cohen [who was murdered by a terrorist at Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate in February], she fell in the line of duty in a determined struggle against bloodthirsty terrorists. Hadas and Hadar, who were pleasant in their lives, were not separated in death. They will remain linked forever in their heroism and their sacrifice on behalf of the nation and the state,” the premier stated.

By: Aryeh Savir, World Israel News