'Government knew of Jewish terrorist's plan to open fire on Shfaram bus'
In 2005, IDF soldier Eden Natan-Zada opened fire on passenger bus in Shfaram, killing four.
By Jack Khoury Tags: Israel news Jewish terroristNewly discovered footage of a terrorist attack perpetrated by an Israel Defense Forces soldier in the Arab town of Shfaram five years ago indicates that authorities were aware of plans to commit the attack, a lawyer representing Israeli Arabs suspected of taking part in the subsequent lynching of the gunman said Sunday.
In August 2005, Eden Natan-Zada opened fire in a passenger bus in Shfaram with his army-issued M-16 assault rifle, killing four. Immediately following the attack, a large crowd gathered around the bus, surrounding the gunman and beating him to death.
Last year, prosecutors charged 12 individuals with taking part in the lynching of Natan-Zada, a move that ignited criticism from the Israeli-Arab community.
An attorney representing some of the lynch suspects recently became aware of the existence of the aerial footage which was taken moments before, during and after the attack.
The lawyer, Maher Talhami, said the cameras followed the trail of the bus in which Natan-Zada rode in entering Shfaram. Immediately after the attack, the footage shows angry mobs gathering at the scene.
Talhami argues that the camera's focus on the bus suggests that authorities were aware of the impending attack. The lawyer obtained the footage while combing through the evidence gathered in the case.
According to Talhami, the unmanned aerial vehicle flew at an altitude of three kilometers over the town and was filming just as Natan-Zada's bus entered Shfaram.
The footage shows the bus until the moment of the attack, which took place at 5:22 P.M. Police helicopters then hovered over the scene of the attack and continued filming.
Talhami said the timing of the filming indicates that defense officials knew of Natan-Zada's plan to perpetrate the attack.
"We are talking about video shot by a drone," Talhami said. "Obviously not every private individual or civilian agent operates a drone on his own volition."
"The method of surveillance of the bus proves that there was early information available to the defense establishment," Talhami said.
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That is the protocol for terrorists, isn't it?
if comparisons are to be used regarding israel and the muslim arab states, we can first start by leveling the playing field. of course, israel being the only democracy(excluding Arab israeli parties) in the ME, staunchest ally of US, and greatest recipient of US money (more than all the wealthy healthy well fed sub Saharans) should by all means compare itself to the back stabbing USS Liberty shooting, Pollard spying Arab states.
all over the world and don't stop them. To dig up one attack when Islamists are attacking everyday every minute seems futile and irrelevent.Had to go back to 2005 to find this one but on the Islamic terrorist side you don't have to even look, its in the headlines
It would not be the first time that the Israeli government knew of a crime about to be committed but chose not to stop it; for back in Jun82 Israel's Ambassador to the UK was a victim of an assassination attempt and was seriously wounded with a shot to the head. This attempt on Shlomo Argov allowed PM Menachim Begin to commence the assault on Lebanon even though the persons responsible were two Jordanians and an Iraqi linked to Abu Nidal who himself was linked to Israeli intelligence. Australian ABC radio journalist Terry Lane some 20 yrs ago conducted an interview in which the interviewee revealed that the Israeli government knew of this imminent assassination attempt but did nothing to stop it as it needed a pretext to launch an assault on Lebanon.
My immediate impression of this crime, without knowing more (I mean the crime of shooting up a bus, not that of stopping its armed perp) is that the Israeli was most likely a highly disturbed individual whose own death was not unexpected. The so-called lynch mob was originally acting in self-defense. I think that should mitigate any charges that they went too far. Let's leave out whether or not the drone was being monitored to the extent that help might have come - but clearly it would NEVER have been able to come in time to stop the shooter, who is considered so privileged that taking four lives is not thought enough of a provocation to the Palestinians who took the law into their own hands. What else could humans do? Some people being worth more than others is played out in this trial. Pity Joe Biden didn't get a load of it before he mistook Israel for the US in all its values. I don't see enough of a similarity myself, but unfortunately we may get there yet.
THE DEFANCE LAWYER DOING HIS JOB FOR HIS CLINTS THER IS NO PROOF THAT GOVERMENT HAD ANY KNOWLEDGE. THE ISRAEL LAW IS EQUEL TO ALL NO BODY IS ABOVE THE LOW IT IS GREAT THAT A DEFANCE LAWYER HAS FORM IN SUCH A FREE COUNTRY.
It's time the world wakes up and fights these terrorists who want to drive all arabs across the Jordan River. Oops,..., I guess you can only use this language when an arab has commited a terrorist act?
Just zoomed in on the largest moving vehicle in it's view. But that's to simple, we need a conspiracy theory that indicts Israel. Never mind the bias source, a defense attorney trying to save his client.
Or don't they care about the news when it's oppressing and terrorizing Palestinians? Where are they to show how Israel is a democratic and ethical state?? The Jewish terrorist was killed in self defense... I can't believe they are being tried. I wonder if any of the Jewish terrorists who stabbed and killed Palestinians or ran them over in the West Bank and slaughtered children in Gaza were tried or ever will be.
if the terrorist was a arab nobody would have spoken about a lynch, but about how the hero's stopped the terrorist before killing more.
So, if a israeli terrorist is killed after an terrorist attack, the Palestinians involved are charged and prosecuted. If a Palestinian terrorist is killed after an terrorist attack, the Israelis involved exercised their right to self-defense. A bit double-standard, isn't it?
Good investigative work by lawyer and journalist!
They predicted that an operation, organised by the Israeli government but carried out by a Jewish militant, would occur days prior to the "disengagment" from the Gaza Strip, in order to make it easier for the Israeli government to expel 10,000 Jews from their homes. This lawyer has now dug up the confirmation. What the lawyer fails to do though with this footage is prove the innocence of the 12 arabs who carried out an extra-judicial killing (which is against International law).
In light of the Dudai killing what would be the problem with angry people killing this terrorist? Should he simply been captured and put on trial?
the natural next step is that they are thought to lie about everything. Really sad for the voting public, this development.
to justify this headline.?
Clearly in an ideal world this terrorist should have been arrested, but Israel/Palestine isn't an ideal world and prosecuting those who killed the terrorist is probably unwise and unjust. Arab terrorists often end up being killed at the end of attacks by Jews and how many of those killings were investigated to see if they were necessary. Also, this guy was IDF. The IDF hardly ever convicts any of its members of serious crimes against Arabs, so the passengers may well have thought if they'd let this guy be arrested he'd end up on some minor charge like negligent discharge of a weapon.
But who can argue with the subsequent positions of the government?