Israeli minister links Brussels attacks to settlement labeling

Minister of Science, Technology and Space Ofir Akunis offers his “sincere condolences to the Belgian people and the families of the murdered, and a speedy recovery to the wounded.”

“The terrorism of extremist Islam strikes all those who do not accept its authority,” he says.

In a reference to the recent EU decision to label products from the West Bank, Akunis suggested the attacks show European countries should have been focusing on tackling terrorism rather than criticizing Israel.

“Many in Europe have preferred to occupy themselves with the folly of condemning Israel, labeling products, and boycotts. In this time, underneath the nose of the Continent’s citizens, thousands of extremist Islamic terror cells have grown,” he writes on Facebook.

“There were those who repressed and mocked whoever tried to give warning. There were those who underestimated.
To our sorrow, the reality has struck the lives of dozens of innocent people.”

— Raphael Ahren