Netanyahu: ’Israel’ will Remain in al-Khalil ‘Forever’

Local Editor

"Israeli" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opened a cabinet meeting Wednesday by vowing that "Israelis" would "remain forever" in al-Khalil's [Hebron] Ibrahimi Mosque [Tomb of the Patriarchs].

Speaking following the death earlier in the day of Genadi Kaufman, 41, a settler who was stabbed outside of the al-Khalil holy site on December 7 by a Palestinian, Netanyahu opened the meeting by expressing condolences to the family.

Netanyahu said, "This morning, too, I say to anyone who wants to uproot us from the Tomb of the Patriarchs: Except for a few years in the last century, we've been there almost 4,000 years. We will remain there forever. You cannot defeat us."

"Israel" police said the Palestinian was shot dead by security forces at the scene.

At the time, police said Kaufman arrived at the hospital's trauma center with severe injuries and connected to a respirator. "Israeli" rescue service said he was in stable condition upon arrival, where he was treated for multiple stab wounds to the chest.

Al-Khalil had been a flashpoint in the recent wave of stabbing, shooting and vehicular heroic operations that had swept the country since October.

The Ibrahimi Mosque [Tomb of the Patriarchs] had been a particular source of tension in the city.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team