|
|
September 10, 1999/29 Elul 5759, Vol. 52, No. 1
Recent attacks revive concerns about Israeli Arabs' activities
GIL SEDAN
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
JERUSALEM - Just as Israel agreed to release hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners and just as the High Court of Justice ruled against some interrogation methods used by Israeli security service officials against Arab suspects, terrorism struck again.
This time around, however, it was not Palestinians from the territories who were involved in three incidents that took place over the past few weeks. The crimes were carried out by Israeli Arabs. On Sept. 5 - hours after Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat signed an agreement in Egypt for advancing the peace process - near-simultaneous car bombings occurred in Tiberias and Haifa. By Sept. 7, Israeli police confirmed that the three who carried out the bombings were Israeli Arabs.
And last week, a 20-year-old Israeli Arab confessed to killing a young Israeli couple who were hiking in a forest in northern Israel because he "wanted to kill Jews."
Although Israeli officials were quick to say that the entire Israeli Arab population should not be condemned for the crimes of a few, the incidents prompted serious concerns. First, there was a resurgence of terror against Jewish targets. Second, the attacks renewed concerns about the growing alienation of some members of Israel's Arab community, who make up one-fifth of the population of the Jewish state. Third, Israeli security officials pointed to the growing radicalization of a political group that has a strong following in the Israeli Arab community - the Islamic Movement.
Prime Minister Ehud Barak was among those who said that Israel's Arab population should not be subject to wholesale discrimination because of the crimes of isolated individuals. "Extremists, as serious as they may be, will be dealt with as individuals," Barak told Israel Radio's Arabic service. "There is no place for generalizations."
Israeli Arab legislator Talab el-Sana of the United Arab List cautioned that "one should not blame the entire Arab population in Israel." But at the same time, he added, the involvement of Israeli Arabs in the attacks should lead to some "serious soul-searching."
|
