Barakeh. 'Criminal intentions'
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Zahalka. 'Kicking off battle'
Photo: Ronen Boidek
Hundreds protest plan to indict Shfaram residents
Hadash Chairman Barakeh slams intention to file charges against 12 of northern town's residents over their involvement in lynching of Jewish terrorist in 2005. 'Israeli establishment probably wishes Eden Natan-Zada had killed more Arabs,' he says
Hundreds of people took part Saturday morning in a rally in the northern town of Shfaram, in protest of a plan by the Haifa District Prosecution to indict 12 of the city's residents over their involvement in the lynching of Jewish terrorist Eden Natan-Zada in 2005.
The rally, organized by the Israeli Arabs' Popular Committee, was attended by members of the citizens killed in the massacre and most Arab Knesset members.
At this stage, it appears that the suspects will be summoned to a hearing before being charged with offenses of assault, sabotage and violence, but not with murder.
Conflict
Haifa District Prosecution subpoenas 12 men allegedly involved in lynching Zada, who killed four people in Shfaram in 2005. 'If prosecution indicts they'll have riots on their hands,' warns Balad chair
Committee member Mourad Hadad told Ynet, "(Attorney General Menachem) Mazuz, who decided to close the October 2000 events case, and in the same breath reopens the 'Shfaram case', has killed us twice. We won't remain silent over this.
"To this day we don’t know who sent the terrorist, we planned, who drove him. It's a shame that instead of investigating all this, they are filing indictment against the victims," he added.
Hadash chairman, MK Mohammad Barakeh, said during the rally, "We won't remain silent in the face of such criminal intentions. It appears that there are those in the establishment and in the State Prosecutor's Office who regret the fact that the terrorist had not murdered enough Arabs and had died while committing his crime.
"We warn against such a foolish act – judging the victim instead of looking for the real criminals," Barakeh added.
Balad chairman, MK Jamal Zahalka, said that "the State Prosecutor's Office, which found nothing wrong with police officers who murdered 13 Arab citizens on October 2000, plans to indict Shfaram's residents, who were defending themselves against murdered Eden Natan-Zada.
"This is racism and an attempt to provoke the Arab public. There is a lot of anger among the Arab public, and this demonstration kicks off an uncompromising battle against the intentions of the State Prosecutor's Office. We demand a commission of inquiry which will reveal the people and forces behind the murderer."
Natan-Zada, an AWOL IDF soldier in uniform, opened fire inside a bus in a Druze neighborhood in Shfaram on August 2005. He murdered four people and injured nine before being beaten to death by an angry Arab crowd who entered the bus.
Ten months after the attack, the police arrested six people involved in the lynch. Another suspect turned himself in.
