Our say

Terror

Batsheva Nigri was a mother of three and a much-loved early childhood teacher. Described as a “fun, happy woman”, she was an active volunteer in her community.

Her 12-year-old daughter, who was in the car while it was riddled with bullets from a Palestinian terrorist’s gun on Monday, was miraculously unhurt; yet she will never forget the moment she watched her mother die.

“Mum, I want to give you a hug one last time,” Shirel said at her mother’s funeral. “I miss you.”

Shay Silas Nigreker, according to his wife, “loved to help people”. He was shot dead on Saturday along with his son Aviad in the West Bank Palestinian town of Huwara. Aviad was described as a “wonderful father and a loving husband”.

Earlier this month, patrolman Chen Amir was shot in cold blood by a Palestinian terrorist, tearing apart another Israeli family.

This year so far, 29 people have been killed in Palestinian terrorist attacks. We stand with Israel and its people and mourn our fallen brethren.

Their murderers did not see human beings with families. They saw an “other”, a “Jew”, and killed them.

And yet we hear our politicians speak of calling upon “both sides” to de-escalate tensions and refrain from violence as if there is some kind of equivalence between cold-blooded murder and the steps Israel takes to protect its citizens.

We acknowledge that Israel has its own violent extremists, but they are small in number and roundly condemned.

In contrast, the Palestinian Authority (PA) continues to spread incitement while it names public squares and children’s sporting tournaments after terrorists. Its pay-for-slay payment policy provides a financial incentive to murder innocent Jews.

Earlier this month when our government announced it would refer to all of the West Bank and east Jerusalem as “Occupied Palestinian Territory” it played right into the hands of the very PA that is enabling this climate in which the slaughter of Jews is encouraged and celebrated.

And while any further moves towards recognising a Palestinian state were thwarted at the federal Labor conference, that such a large number of grassroots members in our governing party would happily reward such evil is a major concern.

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