Israel Using Paris Attacks To 'Declare War' Against Palestinians, Arab Lawmaker Claims

An Israeli official has linked the violence that has gripped Israel in recent months with Friday evening's attacks in Paris, which left at least 129 dead and wounded hundreds others. The official cited the violence in Europe while explaining why the Israeli government has outlawed a controversial Islamist movement. Israel accuses the group, the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement, of inciting Arab Israelis over the last two months.

"Israel must act as an example and spearhead the struggle against radical Islam, whose emissaries we saw massacring innocent people in Paris," Israel Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said in a statement Tuesday.

But Palestinian leaders have accused Israel of exploiting the violence in Paris and elsewhere to carry out crimes against the Palestinians, the Middle East Monitor reported. The Israeli government "breaches international law and legitimacy in its treatment of civilians" while citing international security concerns as justification, Palestine Liberation Organization Executive Secretary Saeb Erekat said Monday. One Arab lawmaker, Abu Arar, called the outlawing of the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement a "declaration of war" against Israel's Arab population, while Basel Ghattas, another Arab lawmaker, said the Israeli government was "insane" and deserves to be boycotted, as it has become a "fascist state."

"Ban Zionism," Ghattas demanded.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the Paris attacks earlier this week. “We should remember – we are not to blame for the terrorism directed against us, just as the French are not to blame for the terrorism directed against them," he said.

The Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement, which was banned last week, provides religious and educational services for Arabs in Israel. The group holds some hard-line views and many of its members oppose any concessions with Israel. The party's leaders have accused Israel of attempting to take over the contested al-Aqsa mosque -- a charge Israeli leaders deny and say has prompted tensions. The religious site, revered by Jews as the site of two ancient biblical temples, has been the scene of considerable violence in recent months. Palestinians who there are plans to confiscate the site have staged protests across Jerusalem, which have since spilled into the West Bank and have resulted in dozens of deaths.

Erdan, the Israeli official, said the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement shares an ideology with the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, and the militant Palestinian movement Hamas. The group, however, has no known connection with ISIS. A recent poll of public opinion in Gaza and the West Bank revealed 91 percent of Palestinians rejected ISIS ideology, and 83 percent supported war against the Syria and Iraq based militant group.