The Yesha Council has filed a police complaint against Haaretz newspaper and journalist Amira Hass over an opinion piece which it said incites violence. The op-ed was published following Tuesday's conviction of Waal al-Arja, a former officer in the Palestinian Authority's security forces, in the 2011 murders of 30-year-old Asher Palmer and his 1-year-old son Yonatan. Palmer was killed after Arja and another man, Ali Saada, threw a large rock at his car as it was traveling on Route 60. As a result, Palmer lost control of the vehicle, which overturned, landing on the side of the road. Both he and his son were killed on impact. Arja was convicted of two counts of murder in the Palmer case and 22 counts of attempted murder over a series of stone-throwing incidents on Route 60 in Judea and Samaria. His sentence is pending. Hass' opinion piece, titled "The inner syntax of Palestinian stone-throwing," said: "Throwing stones is the birthright and duty of anyone subject to foreign rule. Throwing stones is an action as well as a metaphor of resistance." The Yesha Council, which is an umbrella organization of municipal councils in Judea and Samaria, claimed in its police complaint that Hass' piece was "singing the praises of stone-throwing and legitimizing such actions." "The piece totally disregards the fact that throwing stones is an illegal act that places Israeli lives at risk, and that such acts have caused grave injuries and death," the council said. The complaint cited the Palmers' murder as well as a mid-March incident in which Adva Biton and her three young daughters were wounded after stones hurled at their car on a Samaria road caused it to collide with an oncoming truck. Two-year-old Adele Biton sustained a severe head injury and is still fighting for her life. The Legal Forum for the Land of Israel was also vexed by Hass' opinion piece and filed a petition with Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein urging him to launch an investigation against Haaretz, its editor Aluf Benn and Hass, for inciting violence. The forum's legal counsel, attorney Hila Cohen, wrote in the petition that Hass' "grave statements constitute incitement to violence and encouraging murderous acts of terror." Haaretz was unavailable for comment.
Yesha council files police complaint against Haaretz, Amira Hass
Umbrella body of municipal councils in Judea and Samaria Yesha Council says Hass op-ed, which claims "stone-throwing is the birthright and duty of anyone subject to foreign rule," legitimizes acts of terror against Jews and incites violence.
Load more...