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| Majdi al-Rimawi |
A Palestinian who was convicted of killing an Israeli government minister was honored by a city in France, according to press reports in The United States.
A French mayor has angered Israel by granting honorary citizenship to the Palestinian convicted of the murder.
Bezons, which is a suburb of Paris last month honored Majdi al-Rimawi, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for his involvement in the 2001 murder of tourism minister Rehavam Zeevi.
Zeevi had advocated the expulsion of all Palestinians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
The monthly Bezons newsletter reported that leftist mayor Dominique Lesparre said that honoring Rimawi was a strong political act related to the colonization of the Palestinian people. The newsletter did not mention the murder.
Bezons and Rimawi’s hometown have been sister cities since 2008.
A Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Yigal Palmor, said on Monday: “It is outrageous to honor a convicted murderer. No political motive can justify this."