Official: Glorifying terrorists shows lack of commitment to peace.
By HERB KEINONPalestinian protesters 311(photo credit: AP)
In a step underlining the importance the government attaches to quelling Palestinian incitement, the security cabinet is scheduled to discuss a new mechanism to monitor incitement on Wednesday, the same day US envoy George Mitchell is set to launch “proximity” talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.Yossi Kuperwasser, the director-general of the Strategic Affairs Ministry, is to bring a report on Palestinian incitement to the security cabinet, along with a new governmental mechanism – a so-called “incitement index” – that will monitor and quantify incitement on a regular basis.“We ultimately see this as a litmus test to how the Palestinians arecommitted to peace,” a senior official in the Prime Minister’s Officesaid on Tuesday. “If the Palestinian leadership is putting extremistsand terrorists on a pedestal as national heroes, that does not show acommitment to peace. By preparing their people for peace, a commitmentto reconciliation can be demonstrated.”The official said it was no coincidence this report and mechanism werecoming to the security cabinet for a discussion just as the proximitytalks were being started, sending a signal about the importance Israelattributes to the matter, and as a sign that Jerusalem expects thisissue to be on the agenda during the indirect talks.
