Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman has come under fire after calling to place Um el-Fahm and the other Israeli Arab municipalities in the ‘Triangle’ area under cherem following the anti-Israel violence in those areas over the weekend.

Speaking to Galei Tzahal (Army Radio) on Sunday, 22 Kislev, the senior minister explained that he hopes things calm down in Um el-Fahm, a “normal life without riots and violence”, adding he is calling for a boycott in an effort to make the residents of those areas feel “unwanted”.

“I saw thousands of people at the funerals of terrorists in Um el-Fahm,” he told Galei Tzahal, adding he hears the incitement that spews from the muezzins of the mosques. He pointed out during the interview that one regularly sees PLO flags in those municipalities, but one does not see the national flag. Hence, he believes those residents should fee unwanted for if they act as they do they truly are not.

Several years ago, Lieberman initiated a land exchange plan which entails giving the ‘Triangle’ area to the PA (Palestinian Authority) in exchange for areas of Yehuda and Shomron to rid Israel of the Israeli Arabs living in those communities.

Politicians were quick to decry Liberman’s latest plan, issuing politically correct statements in defense of the “majority” of the residents of the Israeli Arab municipalities who did not take part in the protests.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)