Netanyahu Visits Family of Slain Israeli
JERUSALEM, Israel -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid a condolence call Tuesday morning to the family of Dafna Meir, the mother stabbed to death Sunday evening in her home in Otniel.
Following the visit, the prime minister spoke with reporters.
"I just met with a marvelous family with great strength of spirit. They are Zionists, patriots [and] humane, who lost a wonderful wife and mother," Netanyahu began.
"I think that everyone who sees Dafna's picture is immediately impressed by the light emanating from it. Whoever hears about her and her contributions understands that she was a special person...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," he continued. "I found the same spirit in the family, in Natan [her husband] and the children," he said.
From Otniel where the brutal murder took place, Netanyahu said people who want to understand the roots of the conflict should visit the community and people whose desire is to coexist in peace.
"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, and the time has come for the international community to stop its hypocrisy and call the child by its name," Netanyahu said.
"The root of the conflict is the refusal to recognize the Jews' right to 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," he concluded.
