TEL AVIV – Knesset Speaker MK Yuli Edelstein on Monday slammed his Jordanian counterpart for praising the Arab-Israeli terrorists who killed two police officers in Jerusalem, telling the Jordanian Speaker of the House to “shut up” if he didn’t have the gumption to condemn terrorism.
“Mr. Tarawneh, the most basic demand from you, as a public figure and as a human being, was to strongly condemn this abominable crime,” Edelstein said in a statement. “You should have been among the first to say: It is absolutely forbidden to use violence anywhere — and certainly to not desecrate holy places! And if you weren’t going to condemn — it would have been better if you simply shut up!”
“While we are still hurting from the terror attack that happened on Friday at the Temple Mount compound in which two young policemen were murdered, the chairman of the Jordanian Parliament Tarawneh got up — at the parliament podium — and said: ‘The martyrs are watering the holy ground,’” Edelstein said. “It is inconceivable that such a senior figure, in a country with which we have a peace agreement, should encourage the murder of Israeli citizens.”
Edelstein added that comments like those made by Tarawneh only harm chances for peace and regional cooperation and “one can only regret that.”
On Sunday, Tarawneh lashed out at Israel for closing the Temple Mount following the murder of Druze Israeli police officers Haiel Sitawe, 30 and Kamil Shnaan, 22. He also praised the terrorists and led the parliament in a moment of prayer for their souls. The incident came less than 24 hours after King Abdullah II condemned the attack in a call to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“May the mercy of Allah be upon our martyrs who sowed and watered the pure land,” Tarawneh said. “We will raise our heads through the sacrifice of the young Palestinians who are still fighting in the name of the nation.”
He continued by blessing the families of the three cousins from the Arab-Israeli town of Umm al-Fahm — Muhammad Ahmed Muhammad Jabarin, 29, Muhammad Hamad Abdel Latif Jabarin, 19, and Muhammad Ahmed Mafdal Jabarin, 19 — who carried out the attack.
“May Allah have mercy on our young people, members of the Jabarin family, whose family members deserve to receive glory and honor,” he said.
The speaker stated that the attack was justified, and that Israel and the “occupation” of Jerusalem were to blame.
“The damage caused by the Israeli occupation to the holiest sites in Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa are the reason for the continued resistance, we will not not bow to oppression or tyranny,” he said. “Israel’s continued and serious crimes that it commits are the reason for lighting the fire of revenge in the hearts of the generation who still receive hatred of the occupation as their inheritance.”
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