BICOM

Justice Minister Tzipi Livni convened an emergency meeting yesterday of senior law enforcement officials on tackling the recent wave of so-called ‘Price Tag’ incidents in the north of the country.

The meeting was attended by Livni, Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovich, Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein, Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino, State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan, plus IDF and Shin Bet officials. It came after several recent ‘Price Tag’ attacks in northern Israel, acts of vandalism against Palestinian and Arab property by those opposed to curbs on settlement building. Last week, political leaders paid solidarity visits to Fureidis, where an offensive slogan had been spray-painted on a mosque, while a similar incident took place yesterday at the office of a Druze dentist in Yokneam. Later in the day, a 25-year-old man was arrested in connection with the incident and several others in Yokneam.

Yesterday’s emergency forum called for greater powers to tackle ‘Price Tag’ perpetrators. Livni said, “We must leave no stone unturned to ensure that those who engage in these acts are brought to justice.” Meanwhile, Public Security Minister Aharonovich called for the use of administrative detention against suspects, a measure usually reserved for those arrested on suspicion of terror-related offences which allows for their detention for up to six months without trial. Livni and Aharonovich asked that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convene a special cabinet meeting with the aim of designating ‘Price Tag’ attacks an act of terrorism.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Weinstein expressed determination to properly punish perpetrators, saying, “We will not hesitate to appeal if the punishments don’t reflect the degree of severity, as we see it.”

Livni also commented on the arrest of a woman from the West Bank settlement of Yizhar, who promoted religious justification for attacking Israeli soldiers tasked with evacuating settlements. Livni said, “What began as the love of the land turned into a wild west sown with hatred against the Arabs and against the rule of law and its representatives.”