Likud MK accepts Jews attacked in Duma after Ya'alon shows him evidence

"The attack in Duma could not be considered an act of terror, because there is no chance that a Jew would want to murder babies," MK Miki Zohar said earlier this year.

By LAHAV HARKOV
Updated: DECEMBER 25, 2015 02:33
A relative of 18-month-old Palestinian baby Ali Dawabsheh, who was killed after his family's house was set on fire in a suspected attack by Jewish extremists, mourns over his body during his funeral in Duma (photo credit: REUTERS)
A relative of 18-month-old Palestinian baby Ali Dawabsheh, who was killed after his family's house was set on fire in a suspected attack by Jewish extremists, mourns over his body during his funeral in Duma
(photo credit: REUTERS)
MK Miki Zohar (Likud) on Thursday retracted his skeptical remarks that the attack on two Palestinian homes in Duma earlier this year could not have been Jewish terrorism, after Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon showed him evidence to the contrary.
Earlier this week, Zohar said in an interview with The Jerusalem Post’s sister publication Maariv that “the attack in Duma could not be considered an act of terrorism, because there is no chance that a Jew would want to murder babies.”
On Monday, Zohar and Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Tzachi Hanegbi got into a heated argument in a Likud faction meeting about whether or not to call the attack terrorism.
Zohar, a member of the committee, met with Ya’alon who showed him evidence that changed his mind.
“The information and outrageous proof the defense minister presented to me... made it as clear as possible to me that Jewish terrorism, which I had so much trouble believing existed, indeed exists,” he said. “This is a small group of law-breakers who are bringing shame on all the settlements.”
Zohar added that “although this is a small, extremist and delusional group, I must, with great shock, pain and regret, retract my statement that there are no Jews who support killing innocents.”
The Likud MK called to denounce the group, saying that “the Jewish terrorists are endangering the Jewish people and can bring a great tragedy to the settlements and the whole State of Israel.”
Zohar said he asked Ya’alon about claims that the Duma suspects were tortured by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), and the defense minister promised him that they were not and the investigation process is being conducted according to the law and supervised by the courts.
“I think we have to back [the Shin Bet] because they are doing holy work, defending the security of Israel’s citizens,” Zohar said.