Knesset tour guide fired after writing ‘occupation’ causes terror

The guide took to Facebook and wrote: "Just because you sit in an office, and wear a suit doesn't mean you're not a terrorist."

By LAHAV HARKOV
Knesset solar panel roof project. (photo credit: COURTESY OF GREEN KNESSET)
Knesset solar panel roof project.
(photo credit: COURTESY OF GREEN KNESSET)
An Arab tour guide who compared the three yeshiva students kidnapped in Gush Etzion last week to Palestinian prisoners was dismissed from his job in the Knesset.
The guide wrote “320 Palestinians in administrative detention who are on hunger strike are considered captives of Israel. They should be indicted or freed immediately” on Facebook Tuesday. He added, “Just because you sit in an office, wear a suit and call yourself president or a leader doesn’t mean you’re not a terrorist.”
According to the guide, “Terror is not the root of the problem. It is one of the derivatives of the occupation.”
Knesset employees are not allowed to express a political opinion in public, and Knesset Director-General Ronen Plott said he will not tolerate political statements from Knesset workers.
According to Knesset Legal Adviser Eyal Yinon, “The reason the professional units of the Knesset exist and the ethos that is their basis is to give neutral, apolitical state services.”
“Even if the post didn’t have to do with the open wound of the kidnapping, an incident that is still ongoing, what he did is a serious offense,” he stated, “all the more so for someone whose job is to represent the Knesset before different groups. There is no room for compromise on this matter.”