Lieberman Slams Collaborators

From Jerusalem Post May. 4, 2006 By JPOST.COM STAFF:

Israel Beiteinu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman called for the execution of any Arab MKs who meet with representatives of the Palestinian Authority's Hamas-led government during a speech delivered to the Knesset plenum on Thursday.

'World War II ended with the Nurenberg trials,' Lieberman said. 'The heads of the Nazi regime, along with their collaborators, were executed. I hope this will be the fate of the collaborators in [the Knesset].'

...Lieberman also claimed that Israel Beiteinu had demanded in coalition negotiations 'that it be written in the government's guidelines that all the inciters and terror collaborators sitting in the Knesset will be punished. Justice should be served to those who continue meeting with Hamas and Hizbullah.'

Over the past month, various Arab MKs have met with Hamas parliamentarians. Among other things, they spoke of the government's decision to rescind Hamas parliamentarians' residency rights in Israeli territory, including Jerusalem, following the April 17 suicide bombing in Tel Aviv's old central bus station.

The first to meet with Hamas parliamentarians in early April were UAL-Ta'al MKs, including the faction's representative on the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, MK Taleb A-Sanaa. Another meeting took place in east Jerusalem between Balad MKs Jamal Zahalka and Wasal Taha with Palestinian Authority minister Mahmoud Abu-Teir. The third meeting took place in late April in Qatar between Balad Chairman Azmi Bishara and Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Mahmoud A-Zahar.

In response to the Arab MKs' complaints, Israel Beiteinu MK Estherina Tartman defended Lieberman's comments, saying that "Lieberman didn't speak of Arabs or Muslims, but all collaborators. There is nothing strange about this statement. When you have enemies who seek to destroy the state, you have to deal with them, whatever their ethnicity or religion."...


Arutz Sheva, 4/5/06 also reported Lieberman as saying:

... “We requested that in the government guidelines it would say explicitly that all the inciters and collaborators with terrorism that sit in this house should bear the brunt of the penalty for those actions,” Lieberman said from the Knesset plenum. “All those who continue to meet freely with Hamas and Hizbullah – who go on monthly visits to Lebanon. Those who declared Israel’s Independence Day to be ‘Nakba’ [Arabic for ‘catastrophe’ -ed.] Day and raised black flags…