Palestine accuses Israeli defence minister of supporting terror

The Palestinian ministry of foreign affairs called on Thursday for boycotting the Israeli defense minister for supporting "Jewish terror and being reckless to Palestinian blood."

In a statement, the ministry urged the world to boycott Israel's Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, and hold him accountable for his "racist" remarks that give attackers a free hand to kill Palestinians.

"He is encouraging the killing of Palestinians by lowering punishments for killers and criminals," the statement said.

On Wednesday, Ya'alon said that the Israeli authorities know the identity of the perpetrator of Jewish-instigated arson attack that killed three Palestinians from one family, including a toddler, in Duma village in the West Bank.

"But the defendant won't be brought to justice for intelligence reasons," the Israeli public radio quoted Ya'alon as saying during his meeting with young Likud activists.

The Palestinian ministry slammed Ya'alon's remarks, saying that they revealed the true position and polices of the Israeli government led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and confirmed that there is no Israeli peace partner.

"These remarks challenge the international will for peace and the efforts carried out to revive negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis, and further destroy the two-state solution," the statement continued.

The ministry renewed its call for the international community to respect its duties and responsibilities and provide protection to the Palestinian people in accordance with the international law and Geneva Conventions.

The Israeli radio stated that three extreme right-wing Jewish suspects of the arson attack were administratively arrested in August, but they didn't receive any charges.

The Dawabsha family house in Duma was set ablaze on July 31, which killed 18-month-old Ali and seriously injured his mother and father who later passed away, leaving four-year-old brother Ahmed the sole survivor.

The attack sparked Palestinian anger as well as international condemnation, while Israel announced to crack down on the perpetrators.

Source: XINHUA