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Last update - 07:43 24/07/2008 Father of bulldozer terrorist: 'Someone messed with my son's head' By Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondent Tags: Israel, Bulldozer attack  "Unfortunately, I am afraid that we will be seeing many more such attacks," Ahmed, a resident of Sur Baher in East Jerusalem and a relative of Hussam Duwiyat, who carried out the first bulldozer attack, earlier this month, said Wednesday. He sees no link, however, between the three recent terror attacks in the capital or their perpetrators, although the men were from neighboring East Jerusalem villages. Ala Abu Dahim of Jabal Mukaber carried out the shooting attack at Mercaz Harav Yeshiva, in March. Asam Abu Tir, of Umm Touba, attacked pedestrians and cars with a bulldozer on King David street Tuesday. But pure coincidence is difficult to accept. It is hard not to wonder about what makes three young men, all with very similar profiles (without a background in Palestinian activism or any special attachment to religion), to wake up one day and with no warning decide, all on their own, to kill Jews. Advertisement "Someone, I don't know who, messed with my son's head," Hisham Abu Dahim, Abu Tir's father said Wednesday. It was his son's attack at the yeshiva that began the cycle of violence originating in East Jerusalem. It is hard to tell whether the attacks were carried out by well-hidden sleeper cells of some organization, or simply by three young men who responded to the incitement of extremist religious figures. It could even be, as many people from Umm Touba claim, that Tuesday's incident was merely an accident. Ahmed agrees that something going on below the surface and that the deterioration in Arab-Jewish relations in the city is part of it. "Hatred has been building up here for years. Today a Palestinian child from our villages, in East Jerusalem, is nurtured in hatred. He sees the way he is discriminated against, how his father must pay city taxes like in Armon Hanatziv [a nearby Jewish neighborhood] but receives much less in return. He studies in a terrible education system and is scorned by his Jewish employers. Our young people were neglected for years, and this breeds hatred," Ahmed says. He refuses to give his last name, because he works as a taxi driver in West Jerusalem. "There will never be a united Jerusalem here. This is the biggest lie. Our youth are feeling the discrimination, and coexistence was over a long time ago. So stop telling us about one Jerusalem," he said. Hisham Abu Dahim tried at first to avoid speaking to Haaretz. "They aren't here," he said, pointing to his home, when asked about the family of the Mercaz Harav attacker. But a few minutes later he agreed to talk. "I am 57 and when [the attack] happened, I was shocked more than anyone else. Four months later I still do not understand what happened or why. My whole life I avoided saying anything bad about anyone, Jew or non-Jew. My wife cannot stop crying. I always told my children to avoid trouble, to go to work and return home immediately afterward. On the day of the attack I spoke with Ala, he was supposed to bring some furniture for his room. He promised to do it in a couple of days, on Saturday. So, what can I say? I want to know who incited him. A person who had everything. Everything. Who toyed with his head?" Abu Dahim is very upset. Perhaps he fears that his home will be demolished by the security forces. Just a few minutes earlier the police and municipal officials had come to examine the house. He politely says that he cannot understand what made the three young men carry out the attacks. "It is no longer possible to ask them. A young Palestinian, who has no proper job, in a bad economic situation, go figure what he might think and what he might do." In Umm Touba, outside the home of Asam Abu Tir, a few of the locals are sitting under a structure that was to have been his home one day. His father, Mustafa, is giving interviews to the media. "They took a traffic accident and this is what they made it into," Mustafa said Wednesday. "I do not think this was an act of terror. "Yesterday morning [Asam] asked his mother to cook something for him. I did not feel that anything had changed with him. He was not particularly religious, and sometimes he prayed, other times he did not, like all the young men in the village. He had problems with the police. He was arrested with a knife and drugs. But everyone has a problem with marijuana. In the last five months he was off drugs. We are sure that he accidentally hit the bus and then they killed him. Bookmark to del.icio.us   West Bank drought Palestinian Water Authority calls on Israel to rethink its water policies. Death of an artist Egyptian filmmaker's controversial work earned him international recognition.   1.   discrimination against palastinians saves lives 07:03  |  samuel 24/07/08   2.   EXACTLY never responsible for their actions.Always "someone"else 07:43  |  PETER SM 24/07/08   3.   Culture of hate. 07:52  |  Jean Van Daem 24/07/08   4.   Someone sure did! 08:21  |  Jewish State 24/07/08   5.   Israeli OCCUPATION inspires every act of terrorism 08:34  |  Ivar 24/07/08   6.   Accident 09:00  |  Raymond 24/07/08   7.   An accident ???????? 09:31  |  Alon Frank 24/07/08   8.   He doesn`t think it was an act of terror 09:51  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 24/07/08   9.   CYCLE of violence 10:41  |  CK Tan 24/07/08   10.   the common denominator is really NO SECRET! 10:55  |  eric 24/07/08   11.   Perhaps Amos Schocken,"Haaretz" boss is going to give part of 25 11:06  |  Absolute Sweden 24/07/08   12.   Tripple Opressed Arab People 11:16  |  Let us wake up 24/07/08   13.   messed head 11:17  |  Sigmund 24/07/08   14.   Yasser Arafat "messed with his head" 11:37  |  Adam 24/07/08   15.   IKF terror attack 11:51  |  Dav 24/07/08   16.   Move to Gaza your taxes will be spent better by Hamas 12:09  |  Tom 24/07/08   17.   dead driver 12:17  |  shabtai 24/07/08   18.   ALWAYS somebody elses fault.Why are Arabs are never responsible 13:00  |  PETER SM 24/07/08   19.   Someone did mess with his head 13:03  |  mj 24/07/08   20.   A young Palestinian ...... 13:22  |  Lior 24/07/08   21.   Israeli journalism 13:24  |  Brad Smolensk 24/07/08   22.   NURTURING CHILDREN IN HATRED 13:31  |  Nechama 24/07/08   23.   ERIC The common denominator is the racist hatred pumped out 13:35  |  PETER SM 24/07/08   24.   IT`S THE GENERATIONAL CURSE OF JEALOUSY,HATRED AND MURDER THAT 16:43  |  glenna 24/07/08   25.   #21 Brad Smolensk 23:06  |  Singer 24/07/08   26.   Ignore the voice of the parents at your risk 08:46  |  Outsider 25/07/08   27.   # 23 hey peters m...have YOU ever BEEN there? 09:24  |  eric 25/07/08   28.   Discrimination 09:50  |  Susan 25/07/08   29.   would Israeli oppresssion have anything to do with it? 15:16  |  American in NY 25/07/08   30.   THE EPILEPTIC DID IT 20:22  |  Iskander 25/07/08   31.   #29 21:35  |  Jane 25/07/08   32.   not happy living in east jerusalem?-----move--- 00:46  |  yahn goodey 26/07/08   33.   The Bulldozer Brigade 03:53  |  Douglas Fireman 26/07/08   34.   They Had Good Jobs 07:56  |  Joseph 26/07/08   35.   # 31 to jane re" "excuses" (2nd try) 00:56  |  eric 27/07/08   36.   Traumas as Social Interactions 14:31  |  Keops 28/07/08   37.   it`s even israel`s fault when your son creates a pigua? 15:19  |  michelle 28/07/08

Read & React Pentagon chief: War with Iran would be 'disastrous' Responses: 164 Israel agrees to move part of West Bank separation fence Responses: 95 Olmert: Living with 270,000 Arabs in Jerusalem means more terror Responses: 81 Syria envoy to U.S.: Israel has chance for peace with all Arabs Responses: 50 Rosner's Domain What American Jews believe (WTR) Barack Obama, the fashionable darling of the Israeli left The Lebanese are undercutting goodwill in Washington (WTR) Is Jimmy Carter 'tone-deaf' to Jewish sensibilities? (WTR) More Headlines 18:07 Olmert: Living with 270,000 Arabs in Jerusalem means more terror 14:51 Israel agrees to raze part of West Bank separation fence 14:00 Syria envoy to U.S.: Israel has chance for peace with all Arabs 18:29 Father of bulldozer terrorist decries life as stateless East Jerusalem Palestinian 20:23 Two human rights groups report widespread torture in Palestinian lockups 18:14 Transport Min.: Israel `forgot` to invest in aviation safety 15:13 For first time, Hasidic sect approves limited internet use 19:51 Threatened with dismissal, Shas ministers decide against no-confidence vote 12:29 Israel fears European ship may sail to Gaza to 'break siege' 20:10 Body of IAF officer found in Laos river days after he went missing 14:22 Police chief denies cops leaked details of Olmert graft probe 15:34 Israeli woman killed in boating accident off the coast of Florida 09:35 Pentagon chief: War with Iran would be 'disastrous' 15:21 IDF Gaza Division commander suspected of letting son, 14, drive army ATV Previous Editions Select Day 27 jul 25 jul 24 jul 23 jul 22 jul 21 jul 20 jul 18 jul 17 jul 16 jul 15 jul 14 jul

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