European Parliament to remember Israeli victims of terror spree

(JTA) — The European Parliament Delegation for Relations with Israel said it will commemorate victims of what the body called “acts of terror” in the past week.

Fulvio Martusciello, the Italian-born chair of the delegation responsible for parliamentary ties with the Jewish state, said Thursday that he intended to have the “names of the Israeli victims” read out during the delegation’s meeting on Oct. 15.

“I express my condolences to the Israeli families of those who in the past week in Jerusalem [were] victims of acts of terror,” Martusciello wrote. “These attacks are a crime that not only undermine any prospects for peace but also create a negative image of a sacred city for all religions.”

In the past week, Palestinians have perpetrated several attacks against Jews in Jerusalem and other parts of Israel and the West Bank. Last week, a unit affiliated with the armed wing of Fatah, the party of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, assumed responsibility for the slaying of an Israel couple, Naama and Eitam Henkin, near the West Bank settlement of Itamar.

At least 20 Israelis were wounded in the attacks that followed, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said were part of a “terror wave.” Several Palestinians, including the assailants, were also killed, while others injured in clashes with security forces.

Set up in 1979, the delegation headed by Martusciello is among the European Parliament’s oldest and is responsible for maintaining and developing parliamentary ties between the Knesset in Jerusalem and its counterpart within the European Union. The European Parliament also has a Delegation for Relations with the Palestinian Legislative Council, which was set up in 1993.