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Security forces at scene of attack
Photo: Gil Yohanan

West Bank victims' relatives worry over 'revolving door' policy

Relatives of shooting attack victims laud suspects' arrest, but says it is not enough to bring consolation

The relatives of the four Israelis killed during a shooting attack at Bnei Naim Junction lauded on Wednesday the Palestinian Authority's arrest of suspected perpetrators, and expressed hope that their loved ones' killers won't be released under the "revolving door" policy.

 

"If these are in fact the murderers, then of course it's good news," David Bar Nitzan, the father-in-law of Avishai Schindler – who was shot to death in the attack – told Ynet.

 

"Every time they catch a killer and punish him, it’s a good thing. It's important that they catch and punish these murderers, but it's not enough to console us. It won't bring them back, he said.

 

"God willing," he added, "They will not be released in the revolving door system, so that they can't take the life of more people."

 

Hamas claimed responsibility, justified attack (Photo: Reuters)

 

The father of Schindler's widow recounted the difficult week his family faced since the attack: "We know that the mourning is not done once the seven days of mourning are over; but we are trying to gather strength and recover."

 

Rafi Zilberman, a secretariat member at Beit Hagai settlement – where three of the victims lived – said the arrest did not alleviate the residents' hard feelings.

 

"We know the Palestinian Authority is a terrorist authority. Today (Palestinian President) Abu Mazen talks about peace, and on the other hand (Palestinian Prime Minister Salam) Fayyad talks of war," he said.

 

"The Palestinian Authority boycotts the settlements' produce and tries to harm us as much as possible with the construction freeze and boycotts. This says it all. Today we have the Fatah regime and tomorrow we'll have Hamas, which we've already seen operate in Gaza."

 

Zilberman claimed the IDF was not doing enough to prevent the next attack, "Because it is directly influenced by the political echelon that outlines a policy of concessions and opening checkpoints."

 

The fatal shooting attack took the lives of Talya, 45, and Yitzhak Imes, Avishai Shindler, 24, and Kochava Even-Haim, 37.

 

Hamas claimed responsibility for the shooting, justifying the attack against the settlers: "They constitute an actual army in the full sense of the word. They have more than half a million automatic weapons, and the basic protection of the occupation's military."

 

 


פרסום ראשון: 09.08.10, 15:11
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