Former Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard said on Sunday that Israel should destroy the Palestinian city of Huwara in the West Bank in revenge for a terror attack a week ago, but without killing anyone.
“It’s up to the government right now to establish credibility, not only with its own people, but also with its enemies,” Pollard told the Cannes public broadcaster at a memorial service, and that means unfortunately destroying Huwara. should go.” Hallel Yaniv, 21, and Yagel Yaniv, 19, in Jerusalem.
“The graves mark the end of two wonderful men. The destruction of Huwara will mark the beginning of our re-conquest of our land,” he said.
Hours after a Palestinian shooting terrorist attack a week earlier that killed the brothers, dozens of settlers rioted through Huwara and other nearby towns, setting buildings and cars on fire, leaving one Palestinian dead and Many others were badly wounded, including what the top general in charge of the area has labeled “Destruction,
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also said on Wednesday that the state should then “eliminate” Huwara. walked back The comments on Saturday came as a “slip of the tongue” made in a “storm of emotion”. The comments sparked an international uproar and raised questions over the top minister’s expected visit to the United States next week.
Pollard moved to Israel with his late wife, Esther, in December 2020 after he served 30 years in a US prison for espionage, followed by five years of parole.
Cars burned by settlers during riots in Hawara in the West Bank, near Nablus, on February 27, 2023. (Eric Marmor/Flash90)
Prior to the recent elections, Pollard was reportedly offered a spot on the slate of the far-right Otzma Yedudit party, but turned it down because he could not see himself in politics, telling media at the time that He had “suffered substantial losses.”
He told Caan on Sunday that he believed “our enemies only understand decisive retaliation,” guaranteeing the destruction of the village.
“God forbid no one dies in the process, but the village of hate that celebrated the death of these two men and hid the terrorists who killed them should be punished,” he said. Some say it is collective punishment.” , Well, I’m sorry, but the assassins were acting on behalf of the people and the government.
Asked if he trusted the government, Pollard replied: “After my experiences, are you kidding me? Who are you asking? Trust a government? No, I trust the people.” And I trust the land, I trust God.
“I’ve already learned a terrible lesson in that regard,” he said.
As an intelligence analyst at the US Navy’s Counterterrorism Center, Pollard passed thousands of top secret US documents to Israel, straining relations between the two close allies.
He was arrested in 1985, convicted of espionage, and sentenced to life in prison two years later, despite pleading guilty in a deal his lawyers had hoped would lead to a more lenient sentence.
He was eventually released in 2015, but was kept in the United States by parole rules and was not allowed to travel to Israel.
For several years, he was subject to a curfew, had to wear a wrist monitor, and was banned from working for any company whose computer systems lacked US government surveillance software. In addition, he was banned from traveling abroad.
