Skip to main content

Were these Knesset members wrong to meet with the families of attackers?

Joint List Knesset members are shouting over the din to explain that their controversial visit to families of attackers was to discuss releasing the bodies of their sons and not a demonstration of solidarity.
Israeli policemen stand guard at the scene of a stabbing attack in Jerusalem October 30, 2015. Knife-wielding Palestinians attacked Israelis in Jerusalem and the Israeli-occupied West Bank and one of assailants was shot dead, police said. Five people, including two suspected Palestinian assailants, were wounded in the incidents at an Israeli paramilitary police checkpoint outside the West Bank city of Nablus and a light rail station in East Jerusalem, ambulance officials said. REUTERS/Ammar Awad  - RTX1TYCM
Read in 

On Feb. 4, the media reported a meeting in East Jerusalem between Knesset members from the Balad Party (part of the Joint List) and the families of perpetrators killed while attacking Israelis. The reports carried the impression that Knesset members Haneen Zoabi, Jamal Zahalka and Basel Ghattas wanted to convey their condolences to the families for the deaths of their sons. Yedioth Ahronoth's headline read, “Embracing Terrorists.” Many other news outlets used the term “condolence visit.”

According to Maan, the Palestinian news agency, the meeting was attended by the father of Baha Aliyan, who murdered three Israelis in an attack on a bus in the Armon HaNatziv neighborhood of Jerusalem on Oct. 3. The report went on to say that the Knesset members stood in a moment of silence in memory of the attackers. The legislators told a different story, stating that the objective of the meeting was to address the bureaucratic procedures of returning the bodies to their families. Their explanation did not, however, stop the event from becoming a huge public storm in Israel.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.