Israel slams Iranian compensation for Palestinian attackers

“Yesterday, Iran announced that it will finance the families of the terrorists and murderers”, Netanyahu said according to a transcript released by his office.

His comments come a day after Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon said Iran would pay $7,000 to the families of killed Palestinians to “enable the Palestinian people to stay in their land and confront the occupier”, Ambassador Mohammad Fathali was quoted as saying by Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency. Israeli security forces have killed at least 168 Palestinians, 111 of whom Israel says were assailants, while most others were shot dead during violent anti-Israeli protests.

“This is something that the nations of the world must confront and condemn and assist Israel – an other countries of course – in repelling” he said.

He said that families of assailants whose homes have been demolished by Israel would get $30,000. Israeli security services, like many around the world, are concerned by the prospect of “lone wolf” attacks by assailants influenced by Islamic State and its powerful social media outreach.

“It appears that this was a (Palestinian) nationalist-motivated attack”, it said, adding that in response the settlement had been closed to entry for Palestinians until Sunday.

Osama Hamdan, Hamas’ foreign relations chief, said at the press conference that Hamas appreciated the Iranian support. Over 170 Palestinians have also been killed, some two-thirds of them while attacking Israelis, and the rest during clashes with troops, according to the Israeli army.

A wave of Palestinian knife, gun and car-ramming assaults that erupted in October has claimed the lives of 28 Israelis, as well as an American, a Sudanese and an Eritrean.