Today Israel Prize winner Professor Zeev Sternhell was lightly wounded by a pipe bomb suspected to have been planted by rightists.

Sternhell is a veteran supporter of Peace Now, most recently addressing the audience at a an event marking 30 years of Peace Now and only last month attended a Peace Now tour to Hebron that was denied entry by police due to settler violence and threats.

Peace Now activists are not surprised by this new wave of threats and violence, in particular the recent fliers, being distributed among the rightist population, promising a 1million shekel prize to anyone who murders a Peace Now member.

Since the murder of Peace Now activist Emil Grunzweig in 1983, Peace Now has been warning the police and the IDF that law enforcement authorities must abandon their lenient policy when it comes to law-breakers from within the settler community and their supporter. It is clear that those who don't enforce the law on violent settlers in the territories will find himself with a Jewish terror organization in the heart of Israel.

Today yet again we see that there are extreme factions amongst the right wing that are willing to use any means to reach their goals. The settlers that yesterday attacked Palestinians and Israeli soldiers serving in the West Bank, are those today attacking Israeli citizens within Israel. 

These extremists have already established websites of hate threatening Peace Now members, and Peace Now demands that the Interior Minister commands the police force to cut this phenomena at its roots, and begin to immediately arrest and punish those who actions pose a serious threat to the very fabric of Israeli democracy.

For the article in Ynetnews - click here
For the article in Haaretz - click here

Click here to read about a recent incident of incitement to violence against Peace Now by a settler rabbi