Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik (Kadima) met with family members of the eight young students slain in a terrorist shooting in Jerusalem on Monday.  Itzik called to destroy the house of the terrorist who carried out the attack, saying, “It’s not just a matter of deterrence, but rather, the terrorist’s family must know that there is a punishment for the action.”  The terrorist’s family set up a mourners' tent in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber after the attack, where they greeted well-wishers who congratulated them on their son’s “martyrdom.”

Itzik rejected Public Security Minister Avi Dichter’s concern that he lacked the legal authority to take down the mourners’ tent or to destroy the house.  “If Dichter feels that he doesn’t have the authority, he should submit a proposal that would give him the authority,” Itzik said.  Dichter “should not hide behind the Supreme Court,” she added.