Erdan pens op-ed rebutting Barghouti

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan has written a New York Times op-ed responding to one run the paper ran by jailed Palestinian terrorist Marwan Barghouti.

Erdan repudiates Barghouti’s claim, says he’s become “adept at rebranding Palestinian terrorism as legitimate ‘resistance’ and casting himself as a ‘moderate,'” and addresses the hunger strike being held by several hundred Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.

“Mr. Barghouti would like his audience to believe that the hunger strike is a reaction to the mistreatment of prisoners like him. In fact, it has nothing to do with their conditions, which meet international standards,” Erdan says in the op-ed. The true reason for the strike, the Likud minister says, “is political jockeying.”

“From prison Mr. Barghouti has become a major player in Palestinian politics, releasing regular statements on Palestinian affairs and backing candidates in elections. He is now involved in the infighting over who will succeed Mahmoud Abbas, the aging president of the Palestinian Authority and leader of the Fatah party,” he says.

“Israel will not give in to extortion. The conditions and regulations in Israel’s prison system are determined according to Israeli law and international standards, not by pressure tactics,” Erdan says. “Surrendering to such a strike would constitute a surrender to terrorism and would only embolden terrorist groups, weaken our deterrence and lead to further conflict and bloodshed.”