In Morocco, ex-defense chief called ‘war criminal’ by Islamist MP
Former Israeli lawmaker comes to Zionist Union MK Amir Peretz’s defense, notes he’s a native of country
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
An Israeli lawmaker was accosted by a Moroccan official and branded a “war criminal” during a meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean and the World Trade Organization in Morocco’s capital of Rabat on Sunday.
At the end of the session, Zionist Union MK Amir Peretz was approached by the head of an Islamist workers party in Morocco’s parliament, who began to yell at the former defense minister.
“You are a war criminal,” Abed al-Halak yelled at Peretz. “You were the Israeli defense minister and you are an unwanted guest here.”
Former Israeli Druze lawmaker Majalli Wahabi quickly came to Peretz’s defense, noting the Zionist Union MK was born in Morocco.
“Amir Peretz is Moroccan, his mom and dad are Moroccan, he was born here,” said Wahabi. “You have no right to attack him.”
Wahabi also accused al-Halak of being a representative of “radical Islam.”
“You destroyed Tunisia, Yemen, Libya and Syria, and now you want to destroy Morocco,” Wahabi said.
קבלת פנים "חמה" לחבר הכנסת, עמיר פרץ, בפרלמנט במרוקו pic.twitter.com/1FJpr8PJad
— roi kais • روعي كايس • רועי קייס (@kaisos1987) October 8, 2017
The chairman of the meeting later apologized to Peretz, saying, “This minority does not represent the parliament or the Moroccan people,” according to a spokesperson for Peretz.
In a Facebook post following the meeting, Peretz wrote that he “received support from representatives from all the countries at the conference,” and said, “We will not allow extremists to dictate the international agenda.”
Peretz serves as a vice president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean, also known as PAM, and heads the Israeli delegation to the body. The former Labor party chairman served as the defense minister during the 2006 Second Lebanon War between Israel and Hezbollah.
The Times of Israel Community.