Last update - 00:00 27/01/2007
Israeli Arabs rally in support of suspects in Natan-Zada lynching
By Jack Khoury, Haaretz Correspondent
Dozens of residents of Shfaram protested Saturday against state authorities' intention to indict those involved in the lynching of Eden Natan-Zada, who killed four Israeli Arabs in a shooting spree in the northern town in 2005.
MKs Mohammed Barakeh, Hanna Swaid (Hadash), MK Jamal Zahalka (Balad) and other Israeli Arab activists participated in the demonstration. They called on the Justice Department to close their investigations and not "turn the victim into the accused."
In August 4, 2005, a mob killed Natan-Zada after he shot to death four passengers with his army-issued weapon on board a bus.
Members of the municipal committee set up in the wake of the attack said protests will continue as long as "legal procedures are carried out against the youths [implicated in the lynching.]"
MK Barakeh, a native of Shfaram, said "if the law enforcement branch sees our sons as guilty, we, the public officials, shall share the defendants' bench. We thank them for defending themselves and their honor and for shortening the life of he who tried to shorten the lives of the city's residents."
According to Barakeh, instead of investigating local residents the state should have create an inquiry committee to find out why information passed on by Natan-Zada's mother warning of her son's condition was not acted upon by security forces.
The Justice Department has so far refrained from announcing they will indict those suspected of involvement in the lynching, but lawyers for the Shfaram residents have confirmed the suspicions to Haaretz, saying authorities were waiting for the go-ahead from State Prosecutor Eran Shendar.
According to the lawyers, some 14 residents will be indicted in all: Four with attempted murder; five with assault and battery and five others for assaulting police officers.