Yamina MK Betzalel Smotrich today expressed sorrow at the killing of Yaqub Abu-Alkian and apologized for calling the Bedouin "a terrorist who murdered a policeman."
Following the revelation by journalist Amit Segal yesterday about lies and a cover-up in the State Attorney's Office and the police, the case of killing Abu Alkian returned to the headlines.
When asked to "admit" that Abu-Alkian was not a terrorist, Smotrich tweeted: "To the best of my recollection, even if you search well, you will not find my expression calling him a terrorist, not even in real time."
He added, "Even then, I didn't buy the police version and didn't join my friends on the Right (who later apologized when the truth became clear). My skepticism and criticism of law enforcement was not born around Netanyahu's files and was not related to the position."
Later, however, MK Smotrich's tweets from 2017 were revealed, in which he wrote, among other things: "Among this morning's horrific sights are a terror attack by a terrorist who murdered a policeman. The understanding that you grant to terrorism breaks records every time."
"Uri Cole found these tweets of mine that I didn't remember," MK Smotrich responded. "Thank you Uri. So I have to apologize too. It's no shame. I was wrong and I was part of an injustice done to the Abu Alkian family and when you're wrong, you need to be corrected."