Although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to the south Hebron Hills community of Otniel on Tuesday intending to comfort the Meir family, it turned out a little differently.
Daphna Meir, z’l, was stabbed to death in her home by a 15-year-old Arab terrorist from the nearby Hebron suburb of Yatta. Three of her children were there at the time, including her oldest daughter, whose screams sent the terrorist racing away. He was later tracked down by the IDF’s elite Duvdevan unit, together in a joint operation with the Shin Bet and the Judea Brigade.
The prime minister made a special visit to comfort the victim’s husband and six children, but was instead amazed at the strength and faith he found – and outraged about her death.
“The public gets a healthy feeling from the picture, from her story; they immediately understand the uniqueness of this soul that was taken from us. I found the same spirit in the family, in Natan and the children. They asked me only one thing – that we continue to lift up the Jewish People.”
Netanyahu vowed that “we [will] fight our enemies and demolish the home of the terrorist and revoke the work permits and all other actions that were carried out, and will be carried out by the IDF, which has apprehended the murderer…”
But, he said, something else must be said as well: “Whoever wants to see the truth about the roots of the conflict between us and the Palestinians should come to Otniel and see here a wonderful family that only wants coexistence and peace.
“They should see the [Arab] young people, inflamed by incitement, who come to murder women here, a mother of six, and in Tekoa, a pregnant woman; they come to murder them and say: We will destroy you all, in Tel Aviv and Jaffa as well. This is the truth. There is humanity here and the desire for peace and coexistence on one side and boundless hatred on the other.
“This hatred has an address; this is incitement by the Palestinian Authority and other elements such as the Islamic Movement and Hamas; the time has come for the international community to stop its hypocrisy and call the child by its name.
“The root of the conflict is the refusal to recognize the Jews’ right to a have a state within any borders, here, in Tel Aviv, anywhere. I want to spread this truth to the world and I want us to stand on the truth because the truth will win in the end, and so will we.”