“In the State of Israel : Terrorism is an exclusive Palestinian act even if God proves the opposite”

Ittijah - Union of Arab Community Based Associations

UN ECOSOC Special Consultative Status

13.6.2006

Press Release

In the State of Israel : Terrorism is an exclusive Palestinian Act even if God proves the opposite

On 5 August 2005, Israeli terrorist Eden Natan-Zada committed a massacre on a bus near the Arab city of Shefa Amr, killing two sisters ; Hazar and Dina Turki, 23 and 21-years-old respectively, as well as the driver of the bus, Michel Bahouth, 56 and another passenger, Nader Hayek, 55, in addition to other twelve passengers whom he injured. As a result of his killings, the passengers, in an act of defense, beat him to death.

Today and after almost a year, 6 Arab residents of Shefa Amr, suspected of Zada’s killing then, were arrested. The arrests, in an operation named « Shared Fate, » followed 10 months of investigations by a special team in the Israeli police northern district.

Ittijah and the whole Palestinian civil society condemn such an act ; not only it signifies Israel’s attempts to ‘laundry and polish’ attacks committed against Palestinians, but it criminalizes them as well even though they fell as victims of a terrorist attack.

The accusation of the 6 Arab residents from Shefa Amr stands for the Israeli arbitrary system that tends to criminalize anything ’Palestinian’ even if proven innocent ; the mentality of occupation is still consistent.