Awarta stunned over Itamar attack revelation; 'They're just kids'
Awarta village neighbors of two suspects in Itamar massacre stunned by their arrest. Village chief says confessions must have been coerced, demands international probe
Following Sunday's revelations with regards to the arrest of two Palestinians from the village of Awarta for the murder of the Fogel family in the Itamar massacre last March, villagers in Awarta, the village adjacent to the settlement of Itamar, were stunned to discover that two teens, Hakim Mazen Awad (18) and Amjad Mohammad Awad (19) are the main murder suspects.
Many in the village refuse to believe the investigation conclusions including the village council chief Kais Awad. "I have major doubts over the Israeli findings and demand an international inquiry. They're children, it isn't possible that they committed this awful act," he said.
Awad stressed that he condemned the murders but claimed that the two suspects confessed to the murders under duress.
Awad refused to address the fact that the two received assistance in hiding the evidence from one of the families in the village and only agreed to say that "Israel wishes to cover up the crimes it committed in Awarta over the last month, more than 100 people were arrested and homes destroyed.
Other villagers didn't try to claim that the two teens weren't involved in the massacre but they received the news with a great deal of sadness. "We're in the stage where we're just trying to digest the details and people here are in complete shock," Samir, a villager told Ynet.
Samir also condemned the murders and said: Anyone you meet here in Awarta would condemn this murder and it's sad to know that the murderers were from this village."
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