Neturei Karta cause political storm over visit to Jenin
Extreme anti-Zionist ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect met with Palestinian Islamic Jihad officials, families of terrorists
The Neturei Karta, an extreme anti-Zionist ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect, has caused a political storm by visiting the Palestinian refugee camp of Jenin in the northern West Bank.
The camp is seen by many Israelis as a hotbed of Palestinian terrorism. Hebrew and Arabic media reported that the group met with prominent Palestinian Islamic Jihad officials as well as families of terrorists, which spurred comments from the new Israeli government, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who threatened to deport them "to Syria" in a Twitter post.
Neturei Karta opposes the modern state of Israel on religious grounds, regularly protesting against the Jewish state. They have regularly met with Holocaust deniers as well as leaders of the Iranian regime and the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip.
The group said that their visit was to stand in solidarity with the Palestinians against the Israelis.
One of the group members reportedly said that "we are Palestinian Jews, we want to live under the Palestinian flag and not the Israeli flag, in one country which is the Palestinian state."
Israel's Channel 12 News reported that although local gunmen tried to harm the delegation, they were prevented from doing so.