Israeli Ambassador to France Aliza Bin-Noun on Thursday condemned an initiative by several local councils in France to grant archterrorist Marwan Barghouti an honorary citizenship.
Barghouti, one of the founders of the Tanzim terrorist group which is affiliated with the Fatah movement, is currently serving five life sentences in Israeli prison for his role in planning suicide terror attacks. He is widely believed to have masterminded the second intifada which claimed thousands of Israeli lives from 2000 to 2005. He has continued inciting terrorismfrom his jail cell.
In an open letter published Thursday night and quoted by Army Radio, Bin-Noun urged the local authorities to reconsider the initiative to grant Barghouti an honorary citizenship, particularly after the recent terrorist attacks in France.
"Barghouti is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people," wrote Bin-Noun and added, "At a time when Western countries should unite against the threat of terrorism, the French support for Barghouti in fact legitimizes his actions."
Barghouti has been honored in France before. Two years ago, the Parisian suburb of Valenton named a street after the archterrorist. It was followed by another suburb, Aubervilliers, which granted Barghouti an honorary citizenship.
As well, there has been an ongoing campaign to nominate Barghouti for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Leading Belgian Members of Parliament from across the political spectrum recently announced their nomination of Barghouti, and they were later joined by South African archbishop and prominent anti-Israel campaigner Desmond Tutu.