10 feb 2015
Israel has owned to harboring a “profound disagreement” with the United States over efforts to strike a definitive nuclear accord with Iran.
"We do have today a profound disagreement with the United States administration and the rest of the P5+1” over the prospect of a permanent nuclear agreement with Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office quoted him as saying on Tuesday.
The P5+1 group of world powers, namely Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States plus Germany, are seeking to seal a high-profile political deal by the end of March and to confirm the full technical details of the accord by July 1.
Netanyahu claimed that a potential such deal "would enable Iran to threaten Israel's survival."
"It (Iran) would be able, under this deal, to break out to a nuclear weapon in a short time, and within a few years, to have the industrial capability to produce many nuclear bombs for the goal of our destruction," the Israeli premier alleged.
Iran strongly rejects the allegations that it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran says it needs the nuclear program for peaceful purposes, including generating electricity and producing radio-isotopes for medical purposes.
Obama: Same here
US President Barack Obama has likewise said he has sharp differences with Netanyahu on the Iranian nuclear issue, warning him against souring the ongoing negotiations with Tehran by visiting Washington, DC next month.
Last month, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner invited Netanyahu to speak about imposing further sanctions against Iran at a joint session of Congress.
"I don't want to be coy. The [Israeli] prime minister and I have a very real difference around Iran's sanctions," Obama said at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House on Monday.
"I have been very clear -- Angela agrees with me, and [British Prime Minister] David Cameron agrees with me, and the others who are a member of the negotiations agree that it does not make sense to sour the negotiations a month or two before they're about to be completed and we should play that out. If, in fact, we can get a deal, then we should embrace that," Obama said in response to a question.
Obama has refused to meet Netanyahu during his trip to Washington next month, saying diplomatic protocol forbade him from doing so, as the Israeli premier is fighting for re-election on March 17.
Top Obama administration officials and members of the Democratic Party are also angry at Netanyahu over his acceptance of the invitation without coordinating with Obama.
Over a dozen congressional Democrats say they would skip Netanyahu’s speech before Congress amid reports that he might withdraw from the planned address, the Washington-based The Hill newspaper reported on Monday.
Netanyahu: I am going anyway
Netanyahu said, "I am going to the United States not because I seek a confrontation with the president, but because I must fulfil my obligation to speak up on a matter that affects the very survival” of Israel.
The Israeli prime minister, however, said, "This is not a personal disagreement between President Obama and me. I deeply appreciate all that he has done for Israel in many fields."
"Equally, I know that the president appreciates my responsibility, my foremost responsibility, to protect and defend the security of Israel," Netanyahu said.
"We do have today a profound disagreement with the United States administration and the rest of the P5+1” over the prospect of a permanent nuclear agreement with Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office quoted him as saying on Tuesday.
The P5+1 group of world powers, namely Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States plus Germany, are seeking to seal a high-profile political deal by the end of March and to confirm the full technical details of the accord by July 1.
Netanyahu claimed that a potential such deal "would enable Iran to threaten Israel's survival."
"It (Iran) would be able, under this deal, to break out to a nuclear weapon in a short time, and within a few years, to have the industrial capability to produce many nuclear bombs for the goal of our destruction," the Israeli premier alleged.
Iran strongly rejects the allegations that it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran says it needs the nuclear program for peaceful purposes, including generating electricity and producing radio-isotopes for medical purposes.
Obama: Same here
US President Barack Obama has likewise said he has sharp differences with Netanyahu on the Iranian nuclear issue, warning him against souring the ongoing negotiations with Tehran by visiting Washington, DC next month.
Last month, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner invited Netanyahu to speak about imposing further sanctions against Iran at a joint session of Congress.
"I don't want to be coy. The [Israeli] prime minister and I have a very real difference around Iran's sanctions," Obama said at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House on Monday.
"I have been very clear -- Angela agrees with me, and [British Prime Minister] David Cameron agrees with me, and the others who are a member of the negotiations agree that it does not make sense to sour the negotiations a month or two before they're about to be completed and we should play that out. If, in fact, we can get a deal, then we should embrace that," Obama said in response to a question.
Obama has refused to meet Netanyahu during his trip to Washington next month, saying diplomatic protocol forbade him from doing so, as the Israeli premier is fighting for re-election on March 17.
Top Obama administration officials and members of the Democratic Party are also angry at Netanyahu over his acceptance of the invitation without coordinating with Obama.
Over a dozen congressional Democrats say they would skip Netanyahu’s speech before Congress amid reports that he might withdraw from the planned address, the Washington-based The Hill newspaper reported on Monday.
Netanyahu: I am going anyway
Netanyahu said, "I am going to the United States not because I seek a confrontation with the president, but because I must fulfil my obligation to speak up on a matter that affects the very survival” of Israel.
The Israeli prime minister, however, said, "This is not a personal disagreement between President Obama and me. I deeply appreciate all that he has done for Israel in many fields."
"Equally, I know that the president appreciates my responsibility, my foremost responsibility, to protect and defend the security of Israel," Netanyahu said.
US President Barack Obama on Monday defended his refusal to meet with Israeli occupation Prime Minister, Benyamin Netanyahu because it was their policy not to meet any leaders "two weeks before their elections."
Obama said that even if German chancellor, Angela Merkel, was two weeks away from elections she wouldn't receive an invitation to the white house, and she "wouldn't have asked for one."
He described his refusal by saying that this was "the way [they] do business.
Obama then voiced that he had differences with Netanyahu on the Iranian issue.
Read More: Despite US Opposition, Netanyahu to Impose Congress Speech
Despite continuing and mounting opposition to his plans to address the US Congress on March 3, including from American Jewish organizational leaders, Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is "determined to go" and make the case against an Iranian nuclear deal, said a senior government official.
The Senior government official's comments came amid speculation that Netanyahu might, at the last minute, find a reason to put off the trip to Washington until after the March 17 elections and avoid exacerbating tensions with the Obama administration, Jpost said.
Netanyahu, however, seems to feel that the speech against an Iranian nuclear deal cannot be delayed until after the elections and the establishment of a new government, because by then it would be too late.
Netanyahu compared his speech at congress with the Paris anti-terrorism rally, where he imposed himself despite the French president Francios Holladne's will.
He alluded to this at Sunday's cabinet meeting, saying that US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif held talks over the weekend and announced that they intended to complete a framework agreement by the end of March. It is precisely to warn against that agreement that Netanyahu has indicated he cannot put off the visit, and that there is a timetable that cannot be ignored, said Jpost.
Obama said that even if German chancellor, Angela Merkel, was two weeks away from elections she wouldn't receive an invitation to the white house, and she "wouldn't have asked for one."
He described his refusal by saying that this was "the way [they] do business.
Obama then voiced that he had differences with Netanyahu on the Iranian issue.
Read More: Despite US Opposition, Netanyahu to Impose Congress Speech
Despite continuing and mounting opposition to his plans to address the US Congress on March 3, including from American Jewish organizational leaders, Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is "determined to go" and make the case against an Iranian nuclear deal, said a senior government official.
The Senior government official's comments came amid speculation that Netanyahu might, at the last minute, find a reason to put off the trip to Washington until after the March 17 elections and avoid exacerbating tensions with the Obama administration, Jpost said.
Netanyahu, however, seems to feel that the speech against an Iranian nuclear deal cannot be delayed until after the elections and the establishment of a new government, because by then it would be too late.
Netanyahu compared his speech at congress with the Paris anti-terrorism rally, where he imposed himself despite the French president Francios Holladne's will.
He alluded to this at Sunday's cabinet meeting, saying that US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif held talks over the weekend and announced that they intended to complete a framework agreement by the end of March. It is precisely to warn against that agreement that Netanyahu has indicated he cannot put off the visit, and that there is a timetable that cannot be ignored, said Jpost.
9 feb 2015
A verbal spat over whether to brand Hamas a terror group burst out between Qatar's Foreign Minister Khalid Mohamed al-Attiyah and Israeli Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz at the closing stages of the Munich Security Conference.
Attiyah, who was addressing Steinitz in such a remarkably audacious manner, stated that all the turmoil in the Middle East is due to the fact “that we are lagging behind on the peace process. The Israeli-Palestinian peace process, or the conflict, is the main igniter to all the turbulence in the Middle East.”
Observers said Steinitz found no other way out of the dilemma than to remain mum, as Attiyah’s well-elaborated arguments reportedly embarrassed the Israeli official as nobody else has done since a long while.
Nor did Yuval’s panic-stricken responses, in which he reiterated Israel’s blacklisting of Hamas as terrorist, seemed to win over the squabble.
Attiyah, meanwhile, found no discomfort reiterating Qatar’s back-up of the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, and his government’s readiness to provide asylum for the group.
Hamas is not a terrorist organization. It has the right to resist Israel’s aggressions that killed thousands of innocent civilians and destroyed whole residential areas, he said.
He attributed the ongoing chaos rocking the Occupied Palestinian territories and Gaza to Israel’s blockade policy and impediments lying before all international peace efforts.
The Qatari diplomat harked back to last summer’s Israeli offensive on Gaza, reminding the audience of the flagrant violations and sacrilegious assaults perpetrated by extremist Jews on Muslims’ Holy al-Aqsa Mosque.
“Our criticism should be directed towards such violations rather than people’s legitimate right to defend their land and dignity as stipulated by international resolutions,” he added, turning his back to the Israeli occupation official.
“Hamas has two aspects,” Attiyah said in his improvised speech. “It has a social, political aspect, and another aspect: resistance. If you end the occupation, Hamas does not have to fight you. It is a liberation movement.”
“Once again, Israel and everybody here should know that we never support terrorism,” he added.
He went on to equate Israel’s main demand of being recognized as a Jewish state to the Islamic State. "The world is fighting a group calling itself Islamic State, and you want to come and say [you are] a Jewish state."
Voicing Qatar’s non-negotiable pro-Palestine and anti-Israel stance, Attiyah urged the international community to immediately step in and work on bringing Israel’s aggressions and blockade policies to a halt.
Over 20 presidents and 60 foreign ministers, along with consortiums of diplomats and policy-makers, attended the three-day Munich conference.
The conference, which kicked off Friday and ended afternoon Sunday, deliberated a set of stances adopted vis-à-vis international developments, most notably the Ukraine crisis and the security mayhem in the Middle East.
Hamas hails Qatar's foreign minister for his stance at Munich conference
The Hamas Movement has applauded Qatari foreign minister Khalid al-Attiyah for standing up to Israel's representative at the Munich security conference in Germany, describing his position as "strong and courageous."
"All hail to Qatari foreign minister Khaled al-Attiyah for his strong and bold positions and statements, and for his response to the lies of the Zionists and his defense of Hamas and the resistance at the Munich security conference," member of Hamas's political bureau Ezzat al-Resheq stated on Monday.
A heated altercation took place between Attiyah and Israel's minister of intelligence Yuval Steinitz over the Palestinians and their right to resist the occupation on their own land as well as Qatar's support for the Palestinians in Gaza.
Steinitz found himself in a tight corner after the Qatari minister showered him with strong responses refuting the claims he tried to convince the audience of.
During the debate, Attiyah defended Hamas and its right to resist the occupation, and described it as a "liberation movement."
Attiyah, who was addressing Steinitz in such a remarkably audacious manner, stated that all the turmoil in the Middle East is due to the fact “that we are lagging behind on the peace process. The Israeli-Palestinian peace process, or the conflict, is the main igniter to all the turbulence in the Middle East.”
Observers said Steinitz found no other way out of the dilemma than to remain mum, as Attiyah’s well-elaborated arguments reportedly embarrassed the Israeli official as nobody else has done since a long while.
Nor did Yuval’s panic-stricken responses, in which he reiterated Israel’s blacklisting of Hamas as terrorist, seemed to win over the squabble.
Attiyah, meanwhile, found no discomfort reiterating Qatar’s back-up of the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, and his government’s readiness to provide asylum for the group.
Hamas is not a terrorist organization. It has the right to resist Israel’s aggressions that killed thousands of innocent civilians and destroyed whole residential areas, he said.
He attributed the ongoing chaos rocking the Occupied Palestinian territories and Gaza to Israel’s blockade policy and impediments lying before all international peace efforts.
The Qatari diplomat harked back to last summer’s Israeli offensive on Gaza, reminding the audience of the flagrant violations and sacrilegious assaults perpetrated by extremist Jews on Muslims’ Holy al-Aqsa Mosque.
“Our criticism should be directed towards such violations rather than people’s legitimate right to defend their land and dignity as stipulated by international resolutions,” he added, turning his back to the Israeli occupation official.
“Hamas has two aspects,” Attiyah said in his improvised speech. “It has a social, political aspect, and another aspect: resistance. If you end the occupation, Hamas does not have to fight you. It is a liberation movement.”
“Once again, Israel and everybody here should know that we never support terrorism,” he added.
He went on to equate Israel’s main demand of being recognized as a Jewish state to the Islamic State. "The world is fighting a group calling itself Islamic State, and you want to come and say [you are] a Jewish state."
Voicing Qatar’s non-negotiable pro-Palestine and anti-Israel stance, Attiyah urged the international community to immediately step in and work on bringing Israel’s aggressions and blockade policies to a halt.
Over 20 presidents and 60 foreign ministers, along with consortiums of diplomats and policy-makers, attended the three-day Munich conference.
The conference, which kicked off Friday and ended afternoon Sunday, deliberated a set of stances adopted vis-à-vis international developments, most notably the Ukraine crisis and the security mayhem in the Middle East.
Hamas hails Qatar's foreign minister for his stance at Munich conference
The Hamas Movement has applauded Qatari foreign minister Khalid al-Attiyah for standing up to Israel's representative at the Munich security conference in Germany, describing his position as "strong and courageous."
"All hail to Qatari foreign minister Khaled al-Attiyah for his strong and bold positions and statements, and for his response to the lies of the Zionists and his defense of Hamas and the resistance at the Munich security conference," member of Hamas's political bureau Ezzat al-Resheq stated on Monday.
A heated altercation took place between Attiyah and Israel's minister of intelligence Yuval Steinitz over the Palestinians and their right to resist the occupation on their own land as well as Qatar's support for the Palestinians in Gaza.
Steinitz found himself in a tight corner after the Qatari minister showered him with strong responses refuting the claims he tried to convince the audience of.
During the debate, Attiyah defended Hamas and its right to resist the occupation, and described it as a "liberation movement."
Leaked documents gathered by whistleblower and released Sunday show that Israel ranked sixth on list of nations whose citizens held largest amounts of funds in secret offshore Swiss bank accounts.
Israel is ranked sixth on a list of nations whose citizens held the largest amounts of funds in secret offshore Swiss bank accounts belonging to HSBC, with Israelis holding a total of 10 billion dollars in combined accounts.
Documents stolen by a whistleblower in 2007 were leaked on Sunday and detailed how HSBC helped cheat the United Kingdom out of millions of pounds in tax.
Switzerland, Britain, Venezuela, the United States, and France where the top five countries on the list of countries whose citizens held offshore bank accounts with HSBC, Britain's largest and the world's second largest bank. The largest amount of money kept in the banks by a single Israeli was 1.5 billion dollars. Of the offshore accounts, 9,769 bank accounts belonged to Israelis, and 6,554 clients had connections to Israel, 49% of having an Israeli passport or nationality.
Among the names of wealthy clients on the list that was leaked was the diamond merchant Beny Steinmetz and his family. A whistleblower, a computer expert working for HSBC in Geneva, stole and leaked documents containing details of more than 100,000 clients from around the world, according to a report by the BBC.
The thousands of pages of information were obtained by French newspaper Le Monde and were shared with other news outlets, the Guardian and the BBC, in order to conduct a joint investigation. The documents were passed to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICJ) as well as 50 media outlets around the world.
The documents reveal how HSBC bankers helped their clients evade tax and offered special deals to help tax dodgers help escape the law. HSBC says that it has "fundamentally changed" since the documented tax evasion took place in 2007. The bank admitted that some clients took advantage of bank secrecy to hold undeclared accounts. Offshore accounts are not against the law but many people use them to deliberately hide funds from tax authorities, which is illegal.
The leaked documents revealed that HSBC served individuals close to discredited regimes such as that of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, former Tunisian president Ben Ali and current Syrian ruler Bashar Assad, according to information published by the ICJ.
Other Middle East leaders and high ranking officials included on the list of clients with secret offshore bank accounts were King Abdullah II of Jordan, Prince Bandar (who served as Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to the US from 1983-2005), Sultan Qaboos of Oman, Egyptian politician R.M. Rachid and King Mohammed VI of Morocco. Actors and actresses were also some of HSBC's clients who held secret offshore accounts, among them Christian Slater and Joan Collins.
The list also included famous fashion designers Diane Von Furstenburg and Valentino Garavani. Model Elle MacPherson was also on the list, as was Australian media mogul Kerry Packer. The documents also revealed that HSBC Private Bank (Suisse) continued to offer services to clients who had been unfavorably named by the United Nations, in court documents and in the media as connected to arms trafficking, blood diamonds and bribery.
Stephen Green, HSBC’s global chief executive at the time of the Swiss operations, has not released a comment in response the leaked documents. Green is now a Conservative peer in the House of Lords and was trade minister in David Cameron’s government from 2011-2013 – he took up his post eight months after HMRC had been given the leaked documents from the whistleblower.
Israel is ranked sixth on a list of nations whose citizens held the largest amounts of funds in secret offshore Swiss bank accounts belonging to HSBC, with Israelis holding a total of 10 billion dollars in combined accounts.
Documents stolen by a whistleblower in 2007 were leaked on Sunday and detailed how HSBC helped cheat the United Kingdom out of millions of pounds in tax.
Switzerland, Britain, Venezuela, the United States, and France where the top five countries on the list of countries whose citizens held offshore bank accounts with HSBC, Britain's largest and the world's second largest bank. The largest amount of money kept in the banks by a single Israeli was 1.5 billion dollars. Of the offshore accounts, 9,769 bank accounts belonged to Israelis, and 6,554 clients had connections to Israel, 49% of having an Israeli passport or nationality.
Among the names of wealthy clients on the list that was leaked was the diamond merchant Beny Steinmetz and his family. A whistleblower, a computer expert working for HSBC in Geneva, stole and leaked documents containing details of more than 100,000 clients from around the world, according to a report by the BBC.
The thousands of pages of information were obtained by French newspaper Le Monde and were shared with other news outlets, the Guardian and the BBC, in order to conduct a joint investigation. The documents were passed to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICJ) as well as 50 media outlets around the world.
The documents reveal how HSBC bankers helped their clients evade tax and offered special deals to help tax dodgers help escape the law. HSBC says that it has "fundamentally changed" since the documented tax evasion took place in 2007. The bank admitted that some clients took advantage of bank secrecy to hold undeclared accounts. Offshore accounts are not against the law but many people use them to deliberately hide funds from tax authorities, which is illegal.
The leaked documents revealed that HSBC served individuals close to discredited regimes such as that of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, former Tunisian president Ben Ali and current Syrian ruler Bashar Assad, according to information published by the ICJ.
Other Middle East leaders and high ranking officials included on the list of clients with secret offshore bank accounts were King Abdullah II of Jordan, Prince Bandar (who served as Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to the US from 1983-2005), Sultan Qaboos of Oman, Egyptian politician R.M. Rachid and King Mohammed VI of Morocco. Actors and actresses were also some of HSBC's clients who held secret offshore accounts, among them Christian Slater and Joan Collins.
The list also included famous fashion designers Diane Von Furstenburg and Valentino Garavani. Model Elle MacPherson was also on the list, as was Australian media mogul Kerry Packer. The documents also revealed that HSBC Private Bank (Suisse) continued to offer services to clients who had been unfavorably named by the United Nations, in court documents and in the media as connected to arms trafficking, blood diamonds and bribery.
Stephen Green, HSBC’s global chief executive at the time of the Swiss operations, has not released a comment in response the leaked documents. Green is now a Conservative peer in the House of Lords and was trade minister in David Cameron’s government from 2011-2013 – he took up his post eight months after HMRC had been given the leaked documents from the whistleblower.
8 feb 2015
Eight of the victims in 2015
Police have not announced any leads, as victims' relatives accuse police force of negligence and looking the other way.
Nine people in the Arab sector have been murdered in the five weeks of 2015. After 59 murders in the Arab sector in 2014, the trend seems to only be getting stronger. Just as 33 of last year's murders remain unsolved, there are still no leads in the majority of this year's cases.
The most recent incident was on Saturday night, when a man in his thirties was shot to death from a passing car near a coffee shop in the Negev. A 12-year-old boy was seriously wounded, and a 16-year-old boy was moderately wounded in the shooting. Members of the victims' families said they couldn't think of a possible motive. "The victims had no feuds and had good relationships with everyone," said one relative.
Last week Ahmed Mardi, a 61-year-old from Tira, was killed while sitting with two friends in a room at a soccer field. It was the third murder in 24 hours inside the so-called Triangle, an area of Arab towns near the Green Line. Mardi's wife, Abeer, said her husband was a worker responsible for the city's municipal pool. She could not understand why her husband was killed.
"He was a person with no criminal past, was a friend to all, and always tried to make amends between people in conflict," she said. "My husband was murdered in cold blood. I feel that the city of Tira betrayed him and did not stand by him."
Abeer blamed the police for the wave of murders. The police "doesn't take responsibility and doesn't deal with this phenomenon. Instead of arresting the murderers, the police comes and arrests people from the family. The police didn't even come here to ask questions since my husband was murdered. That is negligent and irresponsible."
Tempers have also flared in Kafr Qasem following the murder of soccer player Suhaib Frij. "If the police doesn't find the killers, this criminal behavior will continue," said the victim's father, Mahmad Frij. "My son was not threatened and had no problems with anyone."
The police claims that the Arab sector is not cooperating in order to bring the killers to justice. Deputy chief of the Islamic Movement in Israel's southern faction, Sheikh Safout Frij, said it was not the citizens' job to do the work of the police.
"If the common citizen needs to attest to the crime, then what do we need the police for? On the day that a police station was opened in Kafr Qasem, we were told they would provide security and protect us. Today we ask them to protect our lives and bring the killers to justice."
Two cousins were murdered last week in Jat, 100 meters (about 330 feet) away from the police station. Over the years, six people from the same family were murdered. "The murder was committed by a deadly gang that acts under the auspices of the police," said the uncle of the two victims, who were 17 and 23 years old. These are residents of the West Bank and Gaza who collaborated with the police, and (the police) are now trying to live at the Israeli public's expense," he said.
Attorney Reda Jaber, director of the Aman Center for a Safe Society, said: "The state failed in dealing with the phenomenon of violence and crime in Arab society," and said the government has not made a decision to deal with crime and poverty.
A police response said it "enforces the law in an equal manner, and handles investigations with professionalism." The statement added that "the Israel Police formed in recent years new police units in the Arab sector, who work in tandem with local authorities for the benefit of residents, and we will continue to supply quality service with the help of productive cooperation with the public."
Police have not announced any leads, as victims' relatives accuse police force of negligence and looking the other way.
Nine people in the Arab sector have been murdered in the five weeks of 2015. After 59 murders in the Arab sector in 2014, the trend seems to only be getting stronger. Just as 33 of last year's murders remain unsolved, there are still no leads in the majority of this year's cases.
The most recent incident was on Saturday night, when a man in his thirties was shot to death from a passing car near a coffee shop in the Negev. A 12-year-old boy was seriously wounded, and a 16-year-old boy was moderately wounded in the shooting. Members of the victims' families said they couldn't think of a possible motive. "The victims had no feuds and had good relationships with everyone," said one relative.
Last week Ahmed Mardi, a 61-year-old from Tira, was killed while sitting with two friends in a room at a soccer field. It was the third murder in 24 hours inside the so-called Triangle, an area of Arab towns near the Green Line. Mardi's wife, Abeer, said her husband was a worker responsible for the city's municipal pool. She could not understand why her husband was killed.
"He was a person with no criminal past, was a friend to all, and always tried to make amends between people in conflict," she said. "My husband was murdered in cold blood. I feel that the city of Tira betrayed him and did not stand by him."
Abeer blamed the police for the wave of murders. The police "doesn't take responsibility and doesn't deal with this phenomenon. Instead of arresting the murderers, the police comes and arrests people from the family. The police didn't even come here to ask questions since my husband was murdered. That is negligent and irresponsible."
Tempers have also flared in Kafr Qasem following the murder of soccer player Suhaib Frij. "If the police doesn't find the killers, this criminal behavior will continue," said the victim's father, Mahmad Frij. "My son was not threatened and had no problems with anyone."
The police claims that the Arab sector is not cooperating in order to bring the killers to justice. Deputy chief of the Islamic Movement in Israel's southern faction, Sheikh Safout Frij, said it was not the citizens' job to do the work of the police.
"If the common citizen needs to attest to the crime, then what do we need the police for? On the day that a police station was opened in Kafr Qasem, we were told they would provide security and protect us. Today we ask them to protect our lives and bring the killers to justice."
Two cousins were murdered last week in Jat, 100 meters (about 330 feet) away from the police station. Over the years, six people from the same family were murdered. "The murder was committed by a deadly gang that acts under the auspices of the police," said the uncle of the two victims, who were 17 and 23 years old. These are residents of the West Bank and Gaza who collaborated with the police, and (the police) are now trying to live at the Israeli public's expense," he said.
Attorney Reda Jaber, director of the Aman Center for a Safe Society, said: "The state failed in dealing with the phenomenon of violence and crime in Arab society," and said the government has not made a decision to deal with crime and poverty.
A police response said it "enforces the law in an equal manner, and handles investigations with professionalism." The statement added that "the Israel Police formed in recent years new police units in the Arab sector, who work in tandem with local authorities for the benefit of residents, and we will continue to supply quality service with the help of productive cooperation with the public."
Razi Khasisi after attack
For second time in less than two weeks, Israeli Druze who serves as IDF soldier attacked by group of Jews after speaking Arabic: 'The insult is worse than the physical pain but this just shows that it's not a matter of patriotism or the IDF.'
Razi Khasisi, an Israeli Druze who serves as a combat soldier in the IDF's Golani Brigade, was beaten after speaking Arabic while at a 'soldier's night' event at a bar in northern Israel.
A similar incident took place only a few weeks ago in Jerusalem, highlighting the risks of growing racism in Israel.
Khasisi, from the Druze town of Daliyat al-Karmel, was beaten at the Ultra-Sound bar in Kibbutz Yagur on Thursday and taken to a hospital in Haifa.
Amir Khasisi, his cousin, spoke to Ynet and said his cousin was attacked after a group of fellow Jewish bar-goers called him "Arab" in a derogatory manner and told him that "you are not wanted here" after they overheard the cousins speaking Arabic – their mother tongue and an official language in Israel.
The two sides began to argue vocally, prompting the owner of the bar to throw both groups out. Razi, Amir and another friend went to their car and began to leave the place when the violence began.
"A friend of my cousin was driving and Razi was sitting next to him. The group from the bar attacked us in the parking lot. One of them picked up a stone and smashed it through the window. It broke my cousin's jaw," Amir recalled. The combat soldier was then taken to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa where he underwent surgery and is still hospitalized because of his wounds. "The insult is worse than the physical pain. He is so proud of his unit and of his service. He loves his country," the cousin said of Razi's commitment to Israel and the IDF. "You can see it in his Facebook profile, everything he writes is either in favor of his country or his unit. I just don't believe something like this can happen.
But this just shows that it's not a matter of patriotism or the IDF, it's a matter of being allowed to speak your language unhindered. "It is unconceivable that in Israel someone will be attacked just for speaking Arabic in public. We are horrified. Our parents don't know what to do with themselves and the family is in shock," he said. The family noted that the police have yet to take Razi's account of the event as he is still having trouble speaking because of his injury.
Two weeks ago,Tommy Hassoun another Druze who served in the IDF from Daliyat al-Karmel, was brutally attacked by a group of Jewish men in Jerusalem – reportedly after they heard him speaking Arabic. The men, who were wearing skullcaps, hit the 21-year-old Druze student and broke a glass bottle on him. Hassoun was hospitalized suffering from bruises to his face and back of his head.
The incident prompted Israeli President Reuven Rivli, who knew Hasson from his days in the IDF, to call Hassoun's father to show his support for the family.
Hassoun's father, Ramzi, was shocked by the incident. "On a personal level I believed up until now that this is one nation – I never saw a difference between a Jew and a Druze. I believed and I will continue to believe in the future that this is the land of the Jewish nation – it has a right to live here. There was never doubt about this. I blame myself (and) I blame my Jewish friends for not doing enough to educate. To speak Arabic is not shameful – it does not make you a potential terrorist," said Ramzi.
Related stories:
For second time in less than two weeks, Israeli Druze who serves as IDF soldier attacked by group of Jews after speaking Arabic: 'The insult is worse than the physical pain but this just shows that it's not a matter of patriotism or the IDF.'
Razi Khasisi, an Israeli Druze who serves as a combat soldier in the IDF's Golani Brigade, was beaten after speaking Arabic while at a 'soldier's night' event at a bar in northern Israel.
A similar incident took place only a few weeks ago in Jerusalem, highlighting the risks of growing racism in Israel.
Khasisi, from the Druze town of Daliyat al-Karmel, was beaten at the Ultra-Sound bar in Kibbutz Yagur on Thursday and taken to a hospital in Haifa.
Amir Khasisi, his cousin, spoke to Ynet and said his cousin was attacked after a group of fellow Jewish bar-goers called him "Arab" in a derogatory manner and told him that "you are not wanted here" after they overheard the cousins speaking Arabic – their mother tongue and an official language in Israel.
The two sides began to argue vocally, prompting the owner of the bar to throw both groups out. Razi, Amir and another friend went to their car and began to leave the place when the violence began.
"A friend of my cousin was driving and Razi was sitting next to him. The group from the bar attacked us in the parking lot. One of them picked up a stone and smashed it through the window. It broke my cousin's jaw," Amir recalled. The combat soldier was then taken to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa where he underwent surgery and is still hospitalized because of his wounds. "The insult is worse than the physical pain. He is so proud of his unit and of his service. He loves his country," the cousin said of Razi's commitment to Israel and the IDF. "You can see it in his Facebook profile, everything he writes is either in favor of his country or his unit. I just don't believe something like this can happen.
But this just shows that it's not a matter of patriotism or the IDF, it's a matter of being allowed to speak your language unhindered. "It is unconceivable that in Israel someone will be attacked just for speaking Arabic in public. We are horrified. Our parents don't know what to do with themselves and the family is in shock," he said. The family noted that the police have yet to take Razi's account of the event as he is still having trouble speaking because of his injury.
Two weeks ago,Tommy Hassoun another Druze who served in the IDF from Daliyat al-Karmel, was brutally attacked by a group of Jewish men in Jerusalem – reportedly after they heard him speaking Arabic. The men, who were wearing skullcaps, hit the 21-year-old Druze student and broke a glass bottle on him. Hassoun was hospitalized suffering from bruises to his face and back of his head.
The incident prompted Israeli President Reuven Rivli, who knew Hasson from his days in the IDF, to call Hassoun's father to show his support for the family.
Hassoun's father, Ramzi, was shocked by the incident. "On a personal level I believed up until now that this is one nation – I never saw a difference between a Jew and a Druze. I believed and I will continue to believe in the future that this is the land of the Jewish nation – it has a right to live here. There was never doubt about this. I blame myself (and) I blame my Jewish friends for not doing enough to educate. To speak Arabic is not shameful – it does not make you a potential terrorist," said Ramzi.
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