Israeli Speaker addresses 26/11 terror attack, insists 'Terrorists must pay heavy price'

Israel's speaker of the Knesset, Amir Ohana is currently in India on his maiden visit which began on March 31. During his stay, he met with Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla and signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation and exchange of knowledge between the parliaments. His visit garnered immense attention as he called India "one of Israel's closest and dearest friends".

During an exclusive interview with Republic Media Network, Ohana maintained the stance and spoke on multiple subjects including terrorism and the Mumbai terror attacks which shook the nation on November 26, 2008.

היסטוריה בהודו 🇮🇱🤝🇮🇳

לראשונה בתולדות היחסים בין המדינות חתמתי היום עם מקבילי וידידי יו״ר הפרלמנט ההודי, אום בירלה, על הסכם הבנות לשיתוף פעולה וחילופי ידע בין הפרלמנטים.
1/2 pic.twitter.com/hgYvRWHzn2

— Amir Ohana - אמיר אוחנה (@AmirOhana) March 31, 2023

Ohana draws parallel between India and Israel

In the interview, Ohana spoke about the commonality between India and Israel as both countries have been victims of terrorism for decades. The Israeli speaker drew parallels between the two countries as Israel has been fending off its enemies in a hostile middle-east since 1947 (a year before its independence) while India has been struck by state-sponsored terrorism from Pakistan.

On behalf of the Israeli delegation, I thank you Honorable President Smt. Murmu Ji for your kind words and for the gracious hospitality. It is a true honour to be the first Speaker of the Knesset to visit India, a country we hold in high esteem and share a unique bond with 🇮🇱🇮🇳 https://t.co/N1HWEmoMUB pic.twitter.com/vGXCRnkPes

— Amir Ohana - אמיר אוחנה (@AmirOhana) April 1, 2023

Speaking to Republic, Ohana said that he visited the places in Mumbai where the 26/11 attacks were carried out. "We visited the place. The Taj Mahal (hotel), the Chabad House, several locations where the terror attacks took place."

"We also visited little Mosche's room," Ohana said, recalling the two-year-old child whose Israeli parents were murdered in the hotel.

"We saw on the wall how tall he was when he was 13 months old and then we saw Mosche 11 years old. And someone wrote three words next to it. In Hebrew it means the 'The people of Israel live'. And that person who wrote those words was Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu when he came to visit," he said. 

'Terrorists must pay very heavy price'

Futher speaking on terrorism, Ohana shared his experience in countering terrorism in his career. "In my personal life, I have been battling terror and dealing with counter terrorism for 12 years as part of the Israel defence forces."

He also recalled the Second Intifada of the early 2000s when the Israel government faced an uprising from the Palestinians and the rocket strikes from Hamas in Gaza. "We had the roughest, the most challenging times regarding counter-terrorism in the history of the organisation," the official added. 

"And one part, very important part is to prevent and foil terror attacks before they happen. But the other part is to make sure that everyone that takes part in the terror attacks pays the price, a very heavy price. So we are still waiting for those who committed, those who sent, those who operated the terror attacks to be brought to justice and we need to bring very serious pressure from the free world who stands against terrorism to make sure that this happens in order to prevent the next terror attacks."

The Israeli speaker also reflected on his country's experience in fighting external forces and terrorism and expressed his government's willingness to help India take advantage of it. 

"We have developed such expertise (against terrorism) and we would like to share. We can share information and intelligence and this is something we can strengthen because we are part of the free world and we should stand against terrorism," he said.