MK Says Government Talking Secretly With Hamas

A member of the Knesset has accused Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s government of carrying on clandestine talks with the Hamas terrorist organization while rockets into southern Israel from Gaza have resumed, The Jerusalem Post reported on Wednesday.

“There are negotiations between Hamas and Israel under our noses, via foreign embassies, and don’t try to fool us,” MK Haim Jelin (Yesh Atid) insisted during a Knesset debate on security in the south.

“I ask in the name of Gaza border residents: Why now?” referring to the alleged talks.

Jelin, a chairman of the Eshkol Regional Council near the Gaza border, objected to use of  the term “trickle” to describe the recent attacks.

“This isn’t a trickle. Terrorism must be fought with determination and force,” he said. “The residents of Gaza border towns deserve quiet and security and determination from the government so we can raise our children in peace, like in any other place in Israel.”

Answering on behalf of the government, Deputy Defense Minister Eli Ben-Dahan, said Hamas is the only effective body in Gaza, and is not seeking a conflict.

“The defense apparatus does not recognize the concept of a ‘trickle,’ it knows shooting, and even one rocket shot is not acceptable to us, and in response, we give a harsh punishment,” he added.

Yisrael Beitenu chairman Avigdor Lieberman joined in against his former coalition partners.

“Qatar is the main sponsor of Hamas and the Israeli government agreed to have the Qatari ambassador go to Gaza and distribute money for projects and strengthen Qatar’s grip on Gaza,” he said. “Egypt would never let the Qataris enter Gaza threw its border crossing…This is a mark of [shame] for the government.”

Joint List MK Bassel Ghattas called Gaza “the largest prison in the world,” and that its conditions are the reason people boycott Israel.

“The Israeli government, which has its head buried in the sand, is responsible for what is happening in Gaza. The boycott is only the beginning of a process that cannot be reversed. As long as Israel continues the occupation, the boycott will continue and justly so,” he stated.

Ben-Dahan denounced Ghattas’ remarks, saying that “in no other parliament in the world does a member of parliament call to boycott his country.”

This article appeared in print on page 6 of the June 11th, 2015 edition of Hamodia.