Reportage

Israel: Netanyahu promises a “strong” response in a very tense context

Audio 01:10

Funeral of the Israeli couple Eli and Natalie Mizrahi, victims of a Friday shooting in East Jerusalem, at the Beit Shemesh cemetery, early this Sunday, January 29, 2023. AP - Ariel Schalit

Text by: RFI Follow

4 mins

After a deadly weekend, Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu promises a “ 

”.

The right-wing extremist minister Itamar Ben-Gvir is calling for the death penalty for the perpetrators of the attacks, as well as arms for Israeli civilians.

And at the same time, protests against judicial reform continue in Israel.

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A minute of silence, candles lit in memory of the victims of the attack on the Neve Yaakov synagogue in East Jerusalem, prayers, and significantly fewer participants than in previous weeks.

In Jerusalem, opposite the residence of Israeli President Yaïr Lapid, the leader of the opposition came to pay homage to the seven dead in the attack on Friday evening, reports our correspondent in Jerusalem, 

.

We present ourselves as a people united in the face of terrorism.

The government must decide whether it wants to fight against terrorism or against Israeli democracy.

The organizers of these gatherings had hesitated, before finally opting for quieter demonstrations.

For high-tech entrepreneur Yonatan Alexander, it's the right choice.

I think it was a good idea to come this evening all the same, in silence as we have seen, without music, without loudspeakers... With candles of course;

mark the fact that we are wholeheartedly with all those who are in pain at this time.

But the life of the country continues despite everything.

In all, tens of thousands of Israelis demonstrated again this week in the major cities of the country against the reform of the judicial system in Israel.

►Read again: Israel-Palestine: the spiral of violence seems to be relaunched

“We are the ones who will pay the price”

From Washington to Moscow, many foreign leaders expressed their horror this Saturday, January 28, after the two successive attacks committed by Palestinians which left seven dead and two injured in East Jerusalem.

While calling for restraint.

The Palestinian Authority, for its part, refrained from condemning and judged that Israel was " 

".

This violence comes after a sudden escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, after the death Thursday, January 25 of nine Palestinians in a raid by the Israeli army in the Jenin refugee camp.

In Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, the atmosphere is extremely tense.

The Palestinians fear the worst, after Binyamin Netanyahu's promise of " 

".

The day before, there was in the four corners of the West Bank, and in the Gaza Strip, a concert of horns and fireworks, those of certain Palestinians celebrating the attack.

Others, on the contrary, have absolutely no heart to rejoice.

They speak of a wounded, broken society that comes to celebrate death in this way.

► Listen again: "If we don't see the political dimension, the violence will continue"

“Human lives should be equal”

Mohammad Hassouneh is 35 years old.

He lives in Ramallah.

He already fears the coming repression, a direct consequence of this attack.

We are the ones who will pay the price: Israel will need to shed more blood after this attack.

And the only way to stop all this is to put an end to this apartheid in which we live.

What do you expect from a child who has lived his whole life under occupation?

Do you think he will bring you flowers?

No.

They don't even know what the flowers look like.

He evokes the double standard of the media or the international community, which is only interested in the situation, he says, when Israelis are killed.

He speaks of the thirty Palestinians, including civilians, who have died since the beginning of the year.

If you compare and look at the numbers, it's enough for you to understand the reality.

The Israeli government can kill as many Palestinians as it wants.

In silence, and with total impunity.

Nobody will stop them, nobody will punish them and nobody will make a move against Israel.

It's really devastating.

I think human lives should be equal, but I don't see that.

He makes it clear that his hope lies neither in the international community nor in governments, but in civil society.

“ 

,” he added.

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• Israel

• Palestinian territories

• Yair Lapid

• Binyamin Netanyahu