Major rioting in Jerusalem this morning, pipe bombs fired at light rail train
The first fact to state is that a terrible tragedy and crime has occurred: A 16 year old Arab boy was snatched outside a supermarket in the eastern portion of Jerusalem and his charred body was found by police, who had launched a massive manhunt for him, an hour later in the woods outside of Jerusalem. Police are looking into two possibilities and I hope to G-d it is not the first, and I simply can’t imagine that is because Jewish-Israeli terrorists are few and very far between (we have had a couple). The first possibility that police are examining is that it was a revenge attack for the murder of our three boys. The second possibility they are looking at is that it is intra-Palestinian, either criminal in nature or an honor killing by family members (there are unconfirmed rumors that the child is gay).
In the wake of this, however, Jerusalem is exploding with rioting. Arab protesters have been stoning police forces, burning tires, smashing out windows, chanting ‘we will sacrifice our lives for the Shahids’ (martyrs) and firing pipe bombs at the light rail system. The light rail has been suspended and people are being told to take buses that are being routed to try to avoid attacks by rioters.
Whoever is responsible for this, Arab or Jew, is a horrific child murderer and we need the death penalty and those responsible should be executed. Updates as they come.
israeliminx 
This is what I was afraid of .. Revenge &retaliation from both sides
The evidence so far is pointing to an honour killing (not least because the body was burned). Things are crazy in Jerusalem right now. The Arab mob mistook a fellow Arab from the Badriyyeh family for a Jew, thought he was a Jew acting as an undercover policeman, and nearly lynched him before he was rescued.
It will be a short while before you hear of Jewish settlers going into Arab Villages seeking revenge. BTW from what i read in English Maan and Aljazeera there is no evidence of honour killing. as of yet that is…
But Mark my words there will be a 3rd Intifada if things are not taken under control . One wrong move from the police or IDF and everything will explode in out faces.
This is what worries me
A riot is one thing, where emotions and rage take over and reduce so many to a mob mentality, but I do not see Jewish settlers going into Arab villages seeking to harm the Arabs who live there. There have been some isolated incidents, but mostly it is not the Jewish way and these kinds of senseless violent acts are condemned by most of the Israelis.
I always remember Canterbury Tales, which my English teacher made us memorize in Old English: What are the people like here? and the answer is what are the people like where you came from….there are good people and bad ones in every society. There are also societies where just about craziness is their “normal” and that is true of many of the countries in the Middle East where there is no tolerance of others who are different, of people who are gay, of other religions. But ordinarily, no society is free from having some bad people, though we may wish that were not the case. Israel is better by far than most other places in terms of tolerance, opportunities, caring for others, acceptance of differences (the ONLY democracy in the Middle East), low crime, and the like.
As NormanF points out, the murdered Arab boy could have been a victim of an honor killing, which is not at all uncommon among Muslims. Whoever did it and for whatever reason, I hope that they are caught and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Jews do not do such things to a child… but Arabs kill their own children for reasons of honor.
Every one is so quick to blame the Jews. The Arab hate of the Jews is what stands out. I’m surprised that you of all people, would assume Jews act like monsters.
I had expected better. All we need to know is the Arabs exploding in savage violence tells us all we need to know about them.
With the security fence, even uncompleted as it is, a third intifada will be far less notable and deadly than the last — much harder to blow up buses and cafes throughout Israel now. They can launch it but it will have even less success for them than the last one.
You may well see a small number of Israelis (not all necessarily “settlers”) who engage in condemnable and condemned price tag acts –every country has a small number of moral-less folks –but you won’t see huge mobs doing the sorts of things we are seeing in Beit Hanin and Shufat today.
This is a terrible tragedy.
XSouthAfricanGirl warned about this danger of a revenge killing and more violence, and I believed and hoped that no Jew would ever consider harming an innocent person this way and bringing tragedy and grief to another family and community.
Whoever is responsible should be severely punished. I hope that the Jewish community will step forward and offer a huge reward for information that leads to the guilty person or persons whether they are Arab or Jew.
I am so sick of this conflict and the incitement of hatred and violence by Hamas and other extremists. It can not only infect the Palestinians who are influenced by it, but also others in the Jewish community who also become filled with hatred.
Are not there enough dangers that we all face in the world from germs, accidents, weather, and other serious challenges so that we should all focus on solving those issues and not on harming each other? I am sick of this conflict and others in the world that are caused by intolerance and weak minds.
Ema, the chance that it was a reprisal attack by Jews is pretty much slim to none (never say never). His family, both close and extended, are Mafia and have been embroiled with another criminal element Arab family in deadly tit for tats for years. It is also pretty clear that he was not circumspect regarding his sexuality quite recently and the murder of even suspected homosexuals by family members in Muslim communities is sadly very commonplace, even in the heart of Israel but more so in peripheral spots like Shufat.
Ah. That is the likely cause for his death. See comment that I made above. Even right here in Texas, honor killings are all too common among Muslims, particularly the murders of young girls who are “too Western”, killed by fathers, uncles, and even their own mothers.
The US media is reporting the murdered Arab boy’s death as “criminal” not nationalistic. The US media is generally very unfavorable to Israel, so if they are reporting the crime as criminal and not blaming the Israeli Jews, it must indeed by criminal. If there were a way to criticize the Jews, they would not miss an opportunity to do it.
XSouthAfricanGal, you were right that it is very, very unfortunate that any Israelis have reacted in a way not typical of Israelis, not acceptable at all. No one should do anything to inflame tensions at this time. Marches calling for the deaths of Arabs is as stupid as it is unkind. Rage over the murders of these teens, sadness over their deaths would so much better being channeled in other ways. I hate the idea of “pay back”. I hate anything that harms innocent people.
If you read over my responses to you, it’s clear that I did not expect this, but in such a terrible situation as has been happening with the constant barrage of rockets at civilians and the murders of children, it should have been clear to me that some people would develop extreme rage and hatred for Palestinians.
I refuse to hate all Palestinians as a group, but what I do hate unreservedly is terrorism and those who take part in it, no matter what group they come from.
I think, and I HOPE, that it is found that no Israeli had anything to do with the death of this young man. It seems that there had been attempted kidnappings of members of his family in the past. There are reports that they are mafia linked. Reports that the young man was gay and was killed by relatives. It will take time to sort this out. In the meantime, I hope that Israelis will stay off the streets, stop protesting, stay home, grieve and honor the memories of the young men who were recently murdered (all of them, the young Palestinian included) by behaving in a proper way, allowing the IDF to do their job.
If the Arabs want to riot and cause chaos, that’s their problem and let the IDF deal with them. The Israelis should not contribute to this terrible time. I think that it’s as you said, a small group but even a small group, or just one person, can cause so much misery.
Here are 2 links
an eye for an eye
http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-news/.premium-1.602675?utm_content=bufferd627e&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign
Kidnapped boy
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=709574&utm_content=buffer8df74&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
XSouthAfricanGal, I read an opinion article last night on YNET, a more balanced media source than Haaretz. The author warned against extremist rabbis who were inciting hatred against Palestinians, encouraging violence and retribution against Palestinians. The idea of retribution is horrible and unacceptable. The author makes the point that these extremists are not state-supported and are rejected by most Israelis, but it is worrisome nonetheless. Extremism is a cancer on a society.
It appears that the police may not have acted swiftly in the case according to one news report, but then recall that several have been fired for their mishandling of the kidnapping of the three Israeli teens. I saw the video, and I wondered if there is enough on it to identify the perpetrators of this crime against this young boy. I hope so, and if is any Jew or anyone else, I hope that they are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
I would like to see the people of Israel now taking to the streets in condemnation of this crime against this young innocent Arab man, or in other ways loudly and persistently demanding justice.
Something to think about. I think this writer – “Hugh Fitzgerald” – makes some coolly accurate observations.
http://www.newenglishreview.org/blog_direct_link.cfm/blog_id/54820
Thursday, 3 July 2014
That Arab Boy Found Dead In Jerusalem: Things To Keep In Mind
Yes, I thought of all of these things, too. The Israelis who loudly called for retribution and violence against Arabs, have set the stage for the accusation that they killed this young man, at the very least. The worst would be if they possibility set the state for this type of crime to happen. At this point, the investigation has just begun and we will all have to wait for the outcome. It is not like Jewish Israelis to target children, and as is well-known within Israel, the IDF forces go to great lengths to avoid harming civilians even in the middle of war.
The fact is that Hamas and other terrorists routinely target the children of Israel. The media does not cover that though, rarely covering the rocket barrages that are aimed at schools, homes, and businesses.
Lost in all the media reports, the claims and counter-claims, and hostilities, is the fact that this young Arab boy truly suffered terribly before he died. It is heartbreaking.
I hope that the security forces find the people who committed this terrible crime. With the security tapes, and some eye witnesses, I am hopeful that the security forces can find the persons responsible. I would like to see updates from the investigation, and the offering of a huge reward to try to arrest whoever is the murderer.