Anger over council decision to invite convicted Palestinian terrorist to address meeting
Communal leaders condemn Preston City Council over invite to Mayor of Hebron
Communal leaders have said it is “beyond comprehension” that Preston City Council has invited the Mayor of Hebron to address a working group seeking to forge links with the West Bank city because he is a convicted terrorist who “has never shown remorse for his crimes.”
The left-wing, Labour run council had announced in March an “informal friendship arrangement”, which commits the two cities to forge cultural and practical links, aiming to draw them closer together.
Now it has emerged that an invite has been extended to Mayor Tayseer Abu Sneineh to speak to the council as part of the friendship arrangement.
He was convicted by Israel for taking part in the 1980 Hebron terror attack, which used automatic weapons and hand grenades to kill six Jews – three Israelis, two American-Israelis and one Canadian – during Friday night sabbath prayers. A further 20 Jews were injured.
In an interview in 2017, the former Fatah member and PLO fighter attempted to justify the killings saying:” They all were armed settlers and soldiers, no women or children
“We attacked them with guns and hand grenades.”
“We wanted to send a message to the settlers that this is our city and they have to leave.”
He was convicted as one of the gunmen and sentenced to life in prison. But he was released three years later in a prisoner swap between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization and deported to Algeria.
He returned to the West Bank, along with other exiled PLO figures, after the Oslo interim peace agreement was signed in 1993.
In a statement the Jewish Rep Council of Greater Manchester and Region confirmed:”We have written to Preston City Council objecting to an invitation for the Mayor of Hebron, a convicted terrorist, to speak directly with a working group designed to formalise a friendship agreement between the two cities.”
They added:”It is beyond comprehension that a local authority would seek to engage with an individual who has engaged in terrorism.
“He has never shown remorse for his crimes and continues to promote extremist rhetoric. By extending this invitation the council has shown appalling judgement that risks bringing Preston into disrepute.”
They demanded clarification as to whether the council was aware of the mayor’s past actions and statements.
Hebron is the West Bank’s most populous city, holy to Muslims and Jews, where several hundred nationalist Israeli settlers live in fortified compounds in the midst of 170,000 Palestinian inhabitants.
Matthew Brown, Preston Council’s leader, has said the friendship arrangement would not be just a symbolic gesture, but that Preston “will do what we can” to offer practical support and aid and build links between schools, churches, mosques and community centres.
Abu Sneineh has insisted his days as a terrorist are behind him, but he recently faced criticism over an offer of payment to locals who kill stray dogs. He insisted the comments were a joke.
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