Taybeh riots
צילום: איי פי
Taybeh residents riot
Hundreds of Taybeh residents set fire to tires, stone police during funeral protest against family feuds. Residents: You can’t walk down the street without being afraid
Violent riots erupted in Taybeh Tuesday during the funeral of a resident murdered Monday as a result of a local family feud.
The riots began Tuesday afternoon during the funeral of Murad Haj Ihiya who was murdered Monday as a result of a feud between the Abd el-Kader family and the Hariri family.
“People are frustrated, they have no security. Innocent people are being murdered,” one resident said.
Dozens of residents who attended the funeral arrived at Taybeh’s main street, set fire to tires, and threw stones at police cars and the mayor’s vehicle that passed through the area. The mayor was not injured.
Police arrived at the scene and dispersed the residents, allowing traffic to resume. The police said a handful of people provoked those attending the funeral, which lead to many of the funerals participants arriving at the scene of the riots.
Preceding Ihiya’s murder outside a supermarket Monday was the murder of Arafat Abd el-Kader Saturday. Residents explained that the riots were a consequence of the lack of police intervention in the feud.
Several protesters told Ynet, “It’s unacceptable that two people unconnected to crime were murdered in less than three days. One of them just married two weeks ago, and both have steady jobs, yet the police do nothing.”
The feud between the Hariri’s and the Abd el-Kader’s has claimed many victims. Police estimate that over 30 people have been killed since the feud began 13 years ago, over a dispute as to the driving of youngsters in the families.
Residents said the number is even higher, and may even reach to 70 victims. Some of the victims do not share the same last name as the feuding families, but are related to them.
“Shooter’s don’t show up with pistols, they show up with rifles. There is no silence in this town. So many people here want to live in silence without the fear that they may get hurt if they go out on the street,” they concluded.
