Dim Amor

Knesset Member Ahmad Tibi published a statement on X in which he wrote: "Besides the Israeli government, responsibility for settler terror in the West Bank lies with Chief of Staff Zamir. This is not 'loss of control' but another 'control mechanism' of Israel over the Palestinians. This is what occupation looks like".

The quote attributes direct responsibility for "settler terror" to Chief of Staff Zamir and the Israeli government. Tibi asserts that this is about "responsibility" rather than "loss of control", defining it as "a control mechanism of Israel over the Palestinians." The use of the term "responsibility for terror" assigns to the Chief of Staff accountability for acts that Tibi himself calls "terror".

The publication was distributed in two languages – Hebrew and English – raising questions about the target audience of the message. Publication in English exposes the accusations to an international audience and may provide material to antisemitic elements against Israel.

The central question is why a Knesset member who attributes responsibility for acts of terror to the Chief of Staff and the government settles for a social media post. As a Knesset member, Tibi has numerous options available: filing a police complaint about what he perceives as criminal activity, proposing new legislation, visiting the site, demanding the establishment of a commission of inquiry, posing questions to the government in the plenum. All of these fall within his authority as a Knesset member.

If Tibi genuinely believes that the Chief of Staff and the Israeli government are responsible for acts of terror, he should file a police complaint. If he believes there is a structural problem requiring correction, he should propose legislation. If he wishes to expose findings, he should demand the establishment of a commission of inquiry. Instead, he chose to publish on X.

Tibi describes a situation in which, in his view, there is criminal activity – "terror" – with direct perpetrators. Yet instead of acting against that alleged crime using the tools available to him, he publishes a post. The gap between the severity of the accusations – attributing responsibility for terror to the Chief of Staff – and the avoidance of substantive parliamentary or legal action raises questions about the purpose of the publication.

Photo of Knesset Member Ahmad Tibi from the Knesset website – used in accordance with Section 27A of the Copyright Law