The Jot Municipality complied with an order from the Interior Ministry to remove street signs in memory of Yasser Arafat YSVZ. This elicited the ire of MK Ahmed Tibi, who responded angrily. It is added that prior to becoming a MK, Tibi was a personal advisor and close confidant of Arafat.

Tibi told the Knesset that the naming of the street after Arafat occurred during the tenure of Eli Yishai as minister. He questioned how an interior minister can just order the removal of the sign at the behest of the prime minister.

Deri stated he did not act on the behest of the prime minister, but ordered the removal of the sign on his own. He explained he learned of the street form a disabled IDF veteran who discovered the street via Waze.

Deri added that he probed the matter thoroughly before responding, citing there was never approval for naming the street, not by the current or previous administrations.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)