Journalist Ayala Hasson on Saturday night reported on Channel 13 News that United Arab List chief MK Mansour Abbas met a few years ago with Israeli lawyer Ephraim Dimri, requesting that he represent the terrorists who murdered five members of the Fogel family in March 2011.
On March 11, 2011, terrorists entered the home of the Fogel family in the town of Itamar, and murdered parents Ehud and Ruth, along with 11-year-old Yoav, 4-year-old Elad, and three-month-old Hadas. Three other siblings survived; two (one six years old and one two) were asleep in the house at the time of the attack, and 12-year-old Tamar, who was out with a youth group. It was Tamar who alerted authorities after coming home and finding the grisly scene.
Dimri said, "I cannot confirm names of those who met with me and requested that I represent the suspects in the murder of the Fogel family."
Hasson queried, "Was there a black Adidas bag with thousands of dollars, in exchange for you representing the suspects...deny that it was Mansour Abbas."
Dimri responded, "I cannot say anything. I preserve the confidentiality of the people who met with me."
Ruth Fogel's brother Elihai Ben-Yishai wrote in response, "Ayala Hasson is publicizing that Mansour Abbas turned to an attorney to represent the murderers of my sister Ruth, her husband Ehud, and their three children Yoav, Elad, and Hadas Fogel, may G-d avenge their blood. The mask has been pulled off. The handshakes, smiles, and transfers of money from his coalition partners are another stab at those holy people who were murdered. The blood of my brothers is shrieking from the earth."
Religious Zionism party Director General Yehuda Wald tweeted, "Ayala Hasson has just exposed on Channel 13 that before he became an MK, Mansour Abbas came to an attorney and attempted to enlist him into representing the murderers of the Fogel family. I want to remind you of what the murderer said in court, with a smile on his face: 'I don't regret it, even if I receive the death sentence... I would do it again.'"
MK Orit Strock (Religious Zionism) said, "Mansour Abbas offered a lot of money to attorney Dimri so that he would represent the Fogel family's murderers. Do we need more than this? After the brave attorney, who essentially confirmed the facts - I expect the brave journalist to ask [Prime Minister Naftali] Bennett, [Foreign Minister Yair] Lapid (Yesh Atid), and [Finance Minister Avigdor] Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) this evening about the involvement of their partner in terror. The most basic minimum: A Shabak (Israel Security Agency) interrogation for Abbas."
MK Moshe Arbel (Shas) said, "The expose of journalist Ayala Hasson this evening, regarding the activities of Mansour Abbas to fund legal representation for the murders of the Fogel family, testify that he is in practice a cruel terror supporter."
"The blood of Ruti, Ehud, Yoav, Elad, and Hadas Fogel is shrieking from the ground, but their voices are not heard in the stone hearts of Bennett, [Interior Minister Ayelet] Shaked (Yamina), [MK Nir] Orbach (Yamina), and [coalition chair MK Idit] Silman (Yamina). Earth, do not cover their blood."
Abbas, for his part, responded: "This is a systematic, targeted, campaign and it is a lie."