Mayor of Israeli City That Was Site of Deadly 1974 Massacre Calls Out Abbas Over Palestinian Authority’s Honoring of Attack Mastermind
by Barney Breen-Portnoy
The mayor of a northern Israeli city that was the site of one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in the Jewish state’s history has called on the Palestinian Authority (PA) to dismantle a monument in a Jenin plaza that was erected in honor of the massacre’s mastermind.
In a letter he penned to PA President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday, Ma’alot-Tarshiha Mayor Shlomo Bohbot wrote, “I was infuriated and shocked by reports that the Palestinian Authority in recent days dedicated a city square and monument to the murderous terrorist Khaled Nazzal, who in 1974 murdered 22 innocent high school students in cold blood while they were sleeping in a school in Ma’alot during a field trip, as well as seven other innocent civilians, including women and children.”
“Naming a public square after a loathsome murderer undermines trust, hurts feelings and pushes peace further away,” Bohbot went on to say. “If you are indeed committed to true peace and to reaching the hearts of the Israeli public, I ask that you have the monument removed.”
Copies of the letter were sent to US President Donald Trump, American Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The naming of public institutions in the West Bank after terrorists is a common PA practice.