Fauda star cancelled by Israel’s national security minister for past comments on IDF
Itamar Ben-Gvir has pulled the appearance at a conference of Hisham Suliman, who in 2015 said Palestinians had the 'right to fight'
A far-right Israeli minister has cancelled the appearance at an anti-drug conference of an Arab Israeli TV star of the hit show ‘Fauda’ owing to his past comments about the IDF.
National security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who once hung a portrait of the Jewish terrorist who killed 29 Palestinian worshippers in 1994, took issue with actor Hisham Suliman for past remarks, in which he said Palestinians “have the right to fight against the occupation”.
Suliman’s comments were made in a 2015 interview, when he was asked what he thought about the kind of Palestinian terrorist he plays in the show, which has been watched by tens of millions around the world.
“I don’t accept their way and don’t see it as heroism, but they have the right to fight,” he said. “I seek peace and do not justify harming civilians. But a soldier who is in the West Bank and someone attacks him, I don’t think it’s terrorism.
“If he is in the West Bank and fights the Palestinians and abuses them, he implements the occupation. He shouldn’t be there.”
Suliman was due to appear at a conference of Arab municipalities in northern Israel, hosted by Israel’s National Authority for Community Safety, a body that comes under Ben-Gvir’s ministry.
Ben-Gvir said: “Those who legitimise harming IDF soldiers and are not loyal to the State of Israel cannot in any way receive payment from the State of Israel and appear at the events of the National Security Ministry.”
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