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Sharon reads note from aide. "This is an extremely serious situation. ... I am shocked by this savagery. We need to take practical steps," he was quoted as saying in the weekly cabinet meeting, after reading insulting letters written to ministers. (Photo: AP)
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners February 13, 2005 |
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Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Sunday instructed Israel's law enforcement agencies to "rein in the violent rampage" of Jewish extremists who oppose his plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip.
So far the "violent rampage" has consisted of heckling, graffiti, and a tire whose air had been let out -- it turns out that it had not been slashed as initially reported.
Several Cabinet ministers have been threatened or harrassed in recent days, as a result of the charged political climate caused by Sharon's plan to expel Jews from their homes in Gaza and Samaria, destroy some 25 communities, and hand over territory to terrorists this summer.
Left wing politicians and pundits are trumpeting the claim that attempts to assassinate Sharon are increasingly likely as the withdrawal nears and opponents of the plan become desperate. One pundit went so far as to speculate, without supporting evidence that there is a possibility that a Jewish suicide bomber would blow himself up to break through Sharon's tight cordon of bodyguards.
"The question now is not whether there will be an attempt to assassinate the prime minister, but rather how," military commentator Alex Fishman wrote in the Yediot Ahronot daily.
Raanan Gissin, an adviser to Sharon, said Israel will show "zero tolerance" for Jewish extremists who threaten ministers and lawmakers who support the withdrawal.
At Sunday's Cabinet meeting, Sharon instructed law enforcement agencies to report back to the ministers as soon as possible with steps that can be taken to "rein in the violent rampage," a statement said. Hecalled for "practical steps" to counter the phenomenon.
Commentators referred to events in 1995 prior to the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, ignoring the role of government provocateurs in the employ of the "Jewish Section" of the internal Shin Bet security service, which was responsible for many of the violent events and propaganda.
Extremists, or Shin Bet agents wishing to implicate them, have put up posters across the country with implicit death threats to Sharon. The posters say that Sharon's late wife, Lily, and Rabin, are "waiting for Sharon."
Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a tire slashed and was yelled at during a wedding he attended last week. Education Minister Limor Livnat was whisked away from an event where she was heckled by critics of the government's expulsion plan. Videotape from the event shows that her bodyguards initiated physical contact by shoving protesters, which the media described as an "attack" by the demonstrators.
Yediot reported Sunday that Cabinet minister Meir Shetreet received three letters containing death threats against his children. It is unclear who sent the letters, or whether these were Shin Bet provocations as well.
Cabinet minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer presented to the ministers Sunday a threatening letter he recently received. The letter cited his Iraqi origin:
Ben-Eliezer, who was born in Iraq, presented to the cabinet with a letter that insulted him: "Arab blood is flowing through your veins, and for this you must leave Israel and return to Iraq to defend Saddam Hussein. You are contemptible. You are a miserable Iraqi with Arab-Nazi blood flowing through your veins."
He launched into a hysterical attack on unknown assailants allegedly plotting against Sharon: "I am telling you: They will try to kill the prime minister. It starts with attacking soldiers. We are a country of law and we must examine this matter thoroughly," Ben-Eliezer said. He did not indicate who he meant by "they."
Ben-Eliezer told Israel Radio that the letter was "clearly" written by someone who knew him and his family. The letter was signed and he had turned it over to security forces for investigation. It is unclear why someone would write a threatening letter and sign or if in fact there was an explicit threat in the letter.
According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Sharon was outraged.
"This is an extremely serious situation. It's not an option that such letters are sent and nothing is done about it. I am shocked by this savagery. We need to take practical steps.... We need to take practical steps," Sharon was quoted as saying in the meeting." He did not indicate which "practical steps" he intended.
Sharon said that words could not describe the "vulgarity and the wildness" in the letters which he described as "horrible."
Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni said the "threats" against Israel's leaders were becoming more worrisome. "All of us who support the 'disengagement' [the official euphemism from the government's retreat and expulsion program] have been exposed these past few months ... to some degree of revolting behavior," she told Israel Army Radio.
It is not clear whether "revolting behavior" is considered a crime under Israeli law.
Police commanders also met Sunday to discuss the growing threat, said police spokesman Gil Kleiman.
Justice Ministry spokesman Yaakov Galanti said Attorney General Meni Mazuz wants laws regarding incitement, threats and violence against elected officials to be "enforced without compromise."
Gissin said the prime minister will also meet security officials in the coming days to discuss the situation, and clarify that tactics of "terrorism and fear" are unacceptable.
The AP contributed to this report.
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