Yamina party Chairman Naftali Bennett released a video in English earlier this week in which he compared the Palestinian Authority to the Islamic State terrorist group.
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In the video, recorded at the biblical site of Joshua's altar on Mount Ebal, Bennett addressed the damage done to the altar's outer wall by Palestinian municipal workers.
"Imagine if ISIS would try to take apart the Statue of Liberty or the Eiffel Tower, what an uproar across the world we'd hear," Bennett said.
"I am standing here on the hills of Samaria, on an ancient Jewish site, one of the most ancient Jewish sites ever discovered, 3,200 years old, on Joshua's altar on Mount Ebal," he continued.
אתמול ביקרתי בהר עיבל, אתר מורשת יהודי מלפני 3200 שנה שהרש״פ ניסתה להשמיד, כמו מעשי דעאש.
לא ניתן להם.Bennett: The Palestinian Authority like ISIS is trying to destroy Jewish History. We will not let them. pic.twitter.com/syydgMw16x
— Naftali Bennett בנט (@naftalibennett) February 15, 2021
"On this very mountain 3,200 years ago, the Jewish people came out of Egypt, crossed the Jordan River and came up through Nablus and met here for their last central meeting of the Jewish people before spreading across the land of Israel and building our national home over here," he added.
"A few decades ago a famous archaeologist, Adam Zertal, discovered this altar and found evidence for it being the original Jewish altar. Unfortunately, just a few days ago, the Palestinian Authority started demolishing this location.
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"That is a barbaric act that we have heard only from ISIS or from radical Islamists that want to take away ancient sites of other people," he said.
Bennett concluded his video message by saying: "I can tell you now as the former defense minister of Israel, we will never let anyone touch our Jewish heritage, we are going to keep our heritage to ensure our future."
This article was first published by i24NEWS.
