Ben Dahan
Ben DahanMiriam Alster, Flash 90

Deputy Defense Minister Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan responded in the Knesset in the name of the government to a query regarding the election of arch-terrorist Taysir Abu Sneineh as mayor of Hevron.

Abu Sneineh was a convicted member of the terror cell which murdered six Jews in Hevron in 1980 in cold blood. They were shot in the back while returning from Friday night prayers. Grenades were also thrown from the rooftops adjoining the street upon which they were walking..

During his speech Ben Dahan revealed that "the Israeli government and army will not cooperate with a murderer and will maintain no ties of any sort with him. Murderers belong in a grave or in jail and certainly not in any public position."

Ben-Dahan opened with a moment of silence in memory of the six murdered Jews, whose memorial day fell this week, adding that "the terrorist Taysir Abu Sneineh is the elected mayor of Hevron . He murdered six Yeshiva students in cold blood in Hevron. Six innocent Jews whose only wanted to spread light in this world."

Ben-Dahan also called on President Trump, Ambassador Friedman and the special envoy Jason Greenblatt not to shake hands with [PA Chairman] Mahmoud Abbas whose Fatah movement had endorsed Abu Sneineh as mayor.

Ben Dahan noted that two of the murdered Jews were American citizens, one of whom had even served in the Marines. He addressed the American leader and said: "You are going to shake hands with Mahmoud Abbas, the person behind the election of this murderer, whose movement describes his murders as 'acts of bravery.' Do you want to shake the bloody hands of a murderer? When they tell you Abbas is a partner, do they reveal his true face? They tell you that you are contributing money to his state, but he's really paying salaries to terrorists in Israeli jails."

He added that "this is the same Abbas who in the past few weeks has lied shamelessly to the world and in particular to US president Trump. The same Abbas who educates children to murder Jews while claiming that he is ready for peace. The same Abbas who pays salaries to convicted murderers and turns them into cultural icons of the putative Palestinian nation, who says Israel is an occupier, the same Abbas who dreams of establishing a Palestinian state whose capital is Jerusalem, claims that he is interested in negotiating."

Ben Dahan concluded by stating that the revenge for the election of Abu Sneineh would be to build more in Hevron, just as the murder of the six Yeshiva students had led to the rebuilding of the Jewish community in Hevron. Ben Dahan called on the government to continue this tradition of showing that terror does not pay and build more in Hevron.