| Annan Yaghmour, 21 |
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) -- Violent attacks against Palestinian residents by Israeli settlers of Silwan have become a grim reality. Most recently, Silwanic reported on 12 November 2010 on the assault of Annan Yaghmour, 21, and Ahmad Abu Sabih, 40, when the two were severely beaten by Israeli assailants. Abu Sabih described the attack as a serious hate crime: racially-motivated and with the intent to kill.
The attack, however, is sadly not an isolated event. Farid Kamel Toubasi, 28, a resident of Jerusalem’s Old City states that he was brutally beaten by a large gang of Israelis in a billiards bar on Jaffa Street in West Jerusalem. Farid told Silwanic that he was verbally abused by the youth Jewish Israelis who frequent the cafe, taunting him with racist and anti-Arab remarks while he was playing billiards. The verbal harassment escalated to physical attack, as Farid was beaten until he lost consciousness. Ghazi Toubasi, Farid’s older brother, stated that “I had tried asking the police for assistance in obtaining surveillance camera recordings from the area in Jaffa Street during the time of the attack, but the police officer refused to help. He told me there was no reason to report the issue, and though I tried many more times after that I was rejected each time.”
Over 10 similar attacks on Palestinians in West Jerusalem have been recently reported. Gathering information on the attacks is made incredibly difficult, however, by the reluctance of the Israeli police to respond to Palestinian complaints. Far more of East Jerusalem is under rigorous camera surveillance than West Jerusalem, a fact denounced by many activists and lawyers alike as clear racism against Palestinians.
In the case of Annan Yaghmour, Israeli police claim that they arrested nine young Israelis in relation to the attack, including a girl suspected of involvement in the assault. Yaghmour’s father dismisses the claim, pointing out that his son was unable to ID any of the “suspects” presented to him by police. It was Yaghmour’s father himself, in the end, who brought video footage to the police of an Israeli girl who participated in the attack. He was able to obtain the video thanks only to a Palestinian shopkeeper in the area of Jaffa Street in question.
Israeli police have banned the press from publishing any information relating to the attacks, partially lifting the ban only yesterday to allow publication of the arrest of Israeli suspects.
Tags: Assaults, RacismRacist attacks on Palestinians « Wadi Hilweh Information Center – Silwan, Jerusalem