Settler who threatened IDF apologizes

Shmuel Ben-Ishay says he curses the specific soldiers who evacuated outpost, not all IDF troops.

By TOVAH LAZAROFF
settlers rebuild federman farm 224.88 (photo credit: Tovah Lazaroff)
settlers rebuild federman farm 224.88
(photo credit: Tovah Lazaroff)
His on-air declaration that he wished the soldiers who destroyed the Federman Farm outpost in Judea to die was intended only for those specific security personnel, and not indicative of his feelings regarding the IDF in general, right-wing activist Shmuel Ben-Ishay said Monday. He wrote this in a letter he sent earlier in the day to Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz to explain his comments, broadcast Sunday on Army Radio. They were immediately condemned by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at the start of Sunday's cabinet meeting. During that interview, Ben-Ishay said, "God damn the IDF units. We wish they would be destroyed by their enemies, that all of them would be Gilad Schalit, that they would all be killed and slaughtered, because that's what they deserve." Those words were spoken in the heat of the moment, he told The Jerusalem Post Monday. Ben-Ishay said he was among those who were awakened when the IDF entered Kiryat Arba at 1 a.m. on Sunday. He followed them to the illegal Federman Farm outpost on the outskirts of the settlement and watched them destroy the two homes there, including the one that belonged to right-wing activist Noam Federman, his wife and nine children. "It is the soldiers who did these things who I curse and who I wish that all the curses of the world will fall on their heads," he said. But he added that he did not curse the rest of the soldiers who are risking their lives for the country. "I was speaking only of the evil forces who did this criminal act to the Federman family," he said. How is it, he asked, that the government refused to destroy the homes of terrorists who kill Jews, but when it came to people like the Federmans anything was permissible. The police have invited him to speak with investigators on Tuesday, which Ben-Ishay said had been moved to Thursday. Police have also asked a female activist to discuss her comments. It is expected that both will be arrested for incitement. Late Sunday night more than 100 activists gathered at the site of the Federman Farm, where earlier in the day they had built a white shack as their first step toward replacing the two destroyed homes. They blocked the dirt road leading to the site with stones and metal debris, expecting that the soldiers would return for a second evacuation, but the night passed peacefully. Yaakov Lappin contributed to this report.