Last update - 00:00 11/03/2007
Wadi Ara resident shot to death during inter-family clashes
By Eli Asheknazi, Haaretz Correspondent
A 25-year-old resident of the town of Ararah in the Wadi Ara area was shot and killed Sunday night in what local residents have called a 'revenge killing' for the shooting of another Ararah resident on Saturday night.
On Saturday, Abdul Marzuk, 37, was shot to death during a large brawl between families in the city.
On Sunday afternoon, the funeral for Marzuk was held in Ararah under heavy police protection, and in the early evening hours, clashes broke out again in the city.
Sources in Ararah stated on Sunday that the two men killed since Saturday did not have criminal pasts, and that they simply paid with their lives for the clashes between families in the city that have now stretched on for years.
The feud between the Marzuk and Yunes families started more than 30 years ago, with violence breaking out every few years. A year and half ago, the clashes flared up again, after a man from one family accidentally hit a member of the other with his car. The injured man filed a complaint against the driver and received NIS 6,000 in compensation.
On Saturday morning, members of both families began arguing over the compensation received by the plaintiff, with the argument quickly escalating to violence. During the subsequent fighting, Marzuk was shot to death at the scene by unknown assailants and three other Marzuk family members were stabbed.
"Maybe now, after each family has paid such a terrible price, the conflicts in Ararah will cool off," a local resident said on Sunday.