Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strategizes with defense officials while visiting Otniel. Photo: Amos Ben Gershom/GPO.

JNS.org – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday visited Otniel, the hometown of victim of Palestinian terror Dafna Meir, a mother of six who was stabbed to death in her home on Sunday.

“I just met with a marvelous family with great strength of spirit,” Netanyahu said. “They are Zionists, patriots, humane, who lost a wonderful wife and mother. I think that everyone who sees Dafna’s picture is immediately impressed by the light emanating from it. Whoever hears about her and her contributions understands that she was a special person. The public gets a healthy feeling from the picture, from her story; they immediately understand the uniqueness of this soul that was taken from us. I found the same spirit in the family, in Natan (Dafna’s husband) and the children. They asked me only one thing—that we continue to lift up the Jewish people.”

Netanyahu also described how “boundless hatred” leads to incitement by the Palestinian Authority, the Islamic Movement in Israel, and Hamas.

“Whoever wants to see the truth about the roots of the conflict between us and the Palestinians should come to Otniel and see here a wonderful family that only wants coexistence and peace. They should see the young people, inflamed by incitement, who come to murder women here, a mother of six, and in Tekoa, a pregnant woman; they come to murder them and say, ‘We will destroy you all, in Tel Aviv and Jaffa as well.’ This is the truth,” said Netanyahu.

Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday reacted to the murder in Otniel by stating that his government is “concerned over every drop of blood from any person,” and that “the [Palestinian] resistance will continue through peaceful means, and we will not call for anything else.”