Challenged on settler violence, Netanyahu says no comparison to Palestinian violence

Netanyahu is challenged on settler violence not being prosecuted.

“That’s not true. We don’t have a policy like that.”

Then he tacks to comparing Jewish violence to Palestinian.

“First of all, look at the levels of violence: [Jewish] families burned, Molotov cocktails, a father knifed while walking with his family. Cars being hit and falling into a ravine.”

“You can’t hide settler violence,” he notes. “There’s no comparison between levels. It’s not symmetrical and it’s not equivalent. But what is illegal is illegal. So we prosecute, even if someone takes down some olive trees.

“But Duma is real, and there are many Dumas on the Palestinian side of the ledger. Every four hours there’s a Duma that fails.”

That comparison matters, he explains, because it sets the ground for peace or war.

“There is no symmetry between Israeli and Palestinian societies. We do not teach our children that they have to obliterate Palestine. We do not name public squares for mass murderers. In the few cases of mass murderers like Baruch Goldstein, we excoriate it across the political spectrum. The public square of Ramallah is named after a killer of hundreds of Jews.”

“Right now we’re seeing that the internet is meeting militant Islam in the hearts and minds of children, teenagers, and driving them to believe this fantastic fabrication that we’re going to tear down the Al-Aqsa Mosque, put up the Third Temple. You ask, how can you believe that?”

“It will take time, but we’ll get the Duma people,” he vows.

But “I’m much more concerned about how to get to Palestinian young minds, to disabuse them of these lies and get them to accept the idea that we’re going to have to live side by side in this small piece of land and do it in peace and prosperity.”

“I don’t think their political leadership is ready to accept this.”