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Odeh's killer
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Mahmoud Odeh Killed by a settler November 30 2017 |
27 mar 2018
The Israeli prosecutor’s office has dropped all charges against an Israeli colonizer who, on November 30, 2017, shot and killed a Palestinian farmer, after a group of colonizers attacked Palestinians who were working in their orchard.
Israeli sources said the prosecution ruled that the colonizers who opened fire on the Palestinians, including the one who killed Mahmoud Ahmad Odeh, 46, “acted in self-defense,” and alleged that the colonial Israeli settlers “were picnicking in the area when Mahmoud and several other Palestinians hurled stones at them, mildly wounding one.”
The prosecutor’s office therefore dropped the “negligent homicide” charges against the Israeli perpetrator who killed Odeh.
Palestinian eyewitnesses of the fatal Israeli attack contradicted the Israeli allegation and confirmed that the Israeli colonizers assaulted many Palestinian farmers in their olive orchards in Qusra village, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and opened fire at them, killing Odeh after shooting him with a live round in the chest.
The incident took place when approximately 20 settlers who came from the illegal “Yesh Kod” outpost, which was built on private Palestinian lands, assaulted the Palestinian and his family, before one of them shot Mahmoud.
The colony where the Israeli assailants reside is nearly 15 kilometers away from the Odeh’s land.
Following the shooting, Emad Jamil, a member of Qusra Village Council, said that “It is clear they infiltrated the area, close to many Palestinian homes, with one goal in mind, to commit murder – there have been many attacks by colonists in this area, including the burning, cutting and uprooting of trees.”
Eyewitnesses said the colonizers attacked many farmers in the area, and assaulted Odeh while in his orchard in Ras al-Nakhel area, east of the village, before shooting him with a live round in the chest.
Hours after the fatal Israeli attack, dozens of settlers and soldiers invaded Qusra, before the army shot and seriously wounded one Palestinian in his pelvis, and injured many others, while the settlers also smashed the front windshield and one of the windows of a Palestinian ambulance, wounding the driver in his eye.
The Palestinian Red Crescent identified the injuries among the Palestinians as:
Scores of Palestinians who suffered the effects of teargas inhalation.
Case closed against parents who shot dead Palestinian attacker
Central District Attorney's Office cites lack of guilt in decision to close case against parents who accompanied group of 20 children on trip near Qusra and came under attack by a Palestinian mob; the shooting of Mahmoud Za’al Odeh, who was among the rioters, was found to be in self defense.
The Central District Attorney's Office said Monday it has decided to close the case against two Israelis who shot dead a Palestinian who was part of a group throwing stones at a group of children they were accompanying, citing lack of guilt.
The decision stated the shooting of 47-year-old Mahmoud Za’al Odeh from the village of Qusra was found to be in self defense.
On November 30, 2017, a group of 20 Israeli children and two parents accompanying them went on a Bar Mitzva trip near the village of Qusra, in the Nablus Governorate.
During their hike, the Israeli group came under attack by dozens of Palestinian rioters, including Odeh, who hurled rocks and stones at them from up a slope.
The two parents, who claimed they felt their lives were in danger, said they only fired warning shots into the air. One of the bullets hit Odeh, killing him.
The Israeli group fled their attackers into a cave, with some of the Palestinians pursuing and attacking the children and one of the parents, wounding the adult.
Some residents from Qusra came to aid the group of Israelis and protect them until IDF forces arrived at the scene to extract them.
The investigation confirmed that the shooting was done while the attackers were standing up the slope and throwing stones down at the Israeli group. This was in line with the Israeli suspects' version, whose shooting into the air could have conceivably hit Odeh, who was among the stone throwers.
In addition, the Israelis' version of events was backed by the testimony of one of Qusra's residents, who said the suspects fired only in self defense and only after stones were thrown at them.
Some of the attackers have been indicted by the Military Advocate General's Office.
Honenu, a legal NGO that has provided the Israeli suspects with legal assistance, said in a statement: "From the first moment it was clear that a barbaric mob attacked a group of hikers whose only sin was that they were Jews who went on a Bar Mitzva trip in the Land of Israel. We lament the injustice done to the parents so far, and the fact that immediately upon their discharge from the hospital they had to be questioned at the police station, and rather than receive a commendation, they were made suspects.
The police in their actions personally hurt the brave parents."
Israeli sources said the prosecution ruled that the colonizers who opened fire on the Palestinians, including the one who killed Mahmoud Ahmad Odeh, 46, “acted in self-defense,” and alleged that the colonial Israeli settlers “were picnicking in the area when Mahmoud and several other Palestinians hurled stones at them, mildly wounding one.”
The prosecutor’s office therefore dropped the “negligent homicide” charges against the Israeli perpetrator who killed Odeh.
Palestinian eyewitnesses of the fatal Israeli attack contradicted the Israeli allegation and confirmed that the Israeli colonizers assaulted many Palestinian farmers in their olive orchards in Qusra village, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and opened fire at them, killing Odeh after shooting him with a live round in the chest.
The incident took place when approximately 20 settlers who came from the illegal “Yesh Kod” outpost, which was built on private Palestinian lands, assaulted the Palestinian and his family, before one of them shot Mahmoud.
The colony where the Israeli assailants reside is nearly 15 kilometers away from the Odeh’s land.
Following the shooting, Emad Jamil, a member of Qusra Village Council, said that “It is clear they infiltrated the area, close to many Palestinian homes, with one goal in mind, to commit murder – there have been many attacks by colonists in this area, including the burning, cutting and uprooting of trees.”
Eyewitnesses said the colonizers attacked many farmers in the area, and assaulted Odeh while in his orchard in Ras al-Nakhel area, east of the village, before shooting him with a live round in the chest.
Hours after the fatal Israeli attack, dozens of settlers and soldiers invaded Qusra, before the army shot and seriously wounded one Palestinian in his pelvis, and injured many others, while the settlers also smashed the front windshield and one of the windows of a Palestinian ambulance, wounding the driver in his eye.
The Palestinian Red Crescent identified the injuries among the Palestinians as:
- Two who were shot with live rounds in the pelvis, and the leg.
- Two who were shot with rubber-coated steel bullets.
- Two who were assaulted and beaten by soldiers and settlers.
- One ambulance driver wounded in his eye.
Scores of Palestinians who suffered the effects of teargas inhalation.
Case closed against parents who shot dead Palestinian attacker
Central District Attorney's Office cites lack of guilt in decision to close case against parents who accompanied group of 20 children on trip near Qusra and came under attack by a Palestinian mob; the shooting of Mahmoud Za’al Odeh, who was among the rioters, was found to be in self defense.
The Central District Attorney's Office said Monday it has decided to close the case against two Israelis who shot dead a Palestinian who was part of a group throwing stones at a group of children they were accompanying, citing lack of guilt.
The decision stated the shooting of 47-year-old Mahmoud Za’al Odeh from the village of Qusra was found to be in self defense.
On November 30, 2017, a group of 20 Israeli children and two parents accompanying them went on a Bar Mitzva trip near the village of Qusra, in the Nablus Governorate.
During their hike, the Israeli group came under attack by dozens of Palestinian rioters, including Odeh, who hurled rocks and stones at them from up a slope.
The two parents, who claimed they felt their lives were in danger, said they only fired warning shots into the air. One of the bullets hit Odeh, killing him.
The Israeli group fled their attackers into a cave, with some of the Palestinians pursuing and attacking the children and one of the parents, wounding the adult.
Some residents from Qusra came to aid the group of Israelis and protect them until IDF forces arrived at the scene to extract them.
The investigation confirmed that the shooting was done while the attackers were standing up the slope and throwing stones down at the Israeli group. This was in line with the Israeli suspects' version, whose shooting into the air could have conceivably hit Odeh, who was among the stone throwers.
In addition, the Israelis' version of events was backed by the testimony of one of Qusra's residents, who said the suspects fired only in self defense and only after stones were thrown at them.
Some of the attackers have been indicted by the Military Advocate General's Office.
Honenu, a legal NGO that has provided the Israeli suspects with legal assistance, said in a statement: "From the first moment it was clear that a barbaric mob attacked a group of hikers whose only sin was that they were Jews who went on a Bar Mitzva trip in the Land of Israel. We lament the injustice done to the parents so far, and the fact that immediately upon their discharge from the hospital they had to be questioned at the police station, and rather than receive a commendation, they were made suspects.
The police in their actions personally hurt the brave parents."
20 dec 2017
Israeli who shot dead one of the Palestinian rioters who hurled stones at a group of teens on a hike near the village was acting in self defense, police determine; case passed on to State Attorney's Office.
The police have concluded their investigation into the incident in Qursa, when a Palestinian rioter was shot dead by an Israeli settler, determining the shooting was done in self defense, and that there is no sufficient evidence to warrant prosecution.
The case was passed on to the State Attorney's Office on Wednesday.
Earlier this month, a group of 20 Israeli teens hiking near the village of Qusra came under attack by a group of Palestinian rioters who started hurling stones at them.
The two parents who accompanied them rushed the teens to a nearby cave to hide, while one father shot and killed one of the rioters, 47-year-old Mahmoud Za’al Odeh.
"Dozens of Palestinians threw stones and rocks at us, we were in a life-threatening situation, and we were trying to protect the children," said the father, whose son was among the group. "I had to shoot in self-defense. I hope common sense prevails, and people understand what happened here."
After the shooting, dozens of Palestinians surrounded the cave where the teens were hiding and continued throwing stones.
The Israelis were eventually rescued by IDF forces that arrived at the scene.
Following the incident, the father was questioned on suspicion of causing death by negligence.
Some 20 Palestinians suspected of taking part in the violent rioting and throwing stones were arrested, and one was charged with attempted murder on Monday. The court extended the remand of the other suspects.
Attorney Adi Kidar of Honenu, who represents the two fathers, welcomed the police announcement. "My clients acted in line with the law, as any citizen in clear and immediate danger is expected to act. In an ideal situation, the fathers who accompanied the bar mitzvah trip would've received a certificate of appreciation from day one. They risked their lives in a very serious incident to protect the kids and themselves.
Unfortunately, they found themselves under investigation. I'm glad the Israel Police announced today that their version has been checked and accepted. Now we expect the police to put their efforts into bringing all of the rioters to justice."
The police have concluded their investigation into the incident in Qursa, when a Palestinian rioter was shot dead by an Israeli settler, determining the shooting was done in self defense, and that there is no sufficient evidence to warrant prosecution.
The case was passed on to the State Attorney's Office on Wednesday.
Earlier this month, a group of 20 Israeli teens hiking near the village of Qusra came under attack by a group of Palestinian rioters who started hurling stones at them.
The two parents who accompanied them rushed the teens to a nearby cave to hide, while one father shot and killed one of the rioters, 47-year-old Mahmoud Za’al Odeh.
"Dozens of Palestinians threw stones and rocks at us, we were in a life-threatening situation, and we were trying to protect the children," said the father, whose son was among the group. "I had to shoot in self-defense. I hope common sense prevails, and people understand what happened here."
After the shooting, dozens of Palestinians surrounded the cave where the teens were hiding and continued throwing stones.
The Israelis were eventually rescued by IDF forces that arrived at the scene.
Following the incident, the father was questioned on suspicion of causing death by negligence.
Some 20 Palestinians suspected of taking part in the violent rioting and throwing stones were arrested, and one was charged with attempted murder on Monday. The court extended the remand of the other suspects.
Attorney Adi Kidar of Honenu, who represents the two fathers, welcomed the police announcement. "My clients acted in line with the law, as any citizen in clear and immediate danger is expected to act. In an ideal situation, the fathers who accompanied the bar mitzvah trip would've received a certificate of appreciation from day one. They risked their lives in a very serious incident to protect the kids and themselves.
Unfortunately, they found themselves under investigation. I'm glad the Israel Police announced today that their version has been checked and accepted. Now we expect the police to put their efforts into bringing all of the rioters to justice."
19 dec 2017
Israeli military prosecution filed an indictment on Monday, against Mohammed Wadi, Palestinian from Nablus, accusing him of attempting to murder an extremist Jewish settler.
Meanwhile, Israeli police are reportedly accepting a settler’s claim that he killed a Palestinian farmer, in the same incident, in an act of self-defense.
The Israeli military prosecution, which requested extension of Wadi’s remand detention, claimed, in the indictment against Wadi, that he entered a cave where settlers were hiding and threw stones at them from a close distance.
In addition, a spokesperson for the Israeli army claimed that Wadi threw one of the stones at the head of a settler and injured him.
At the end of November, Israeli occupation forces abducted 19 Palestinians over claims of taking part in the incident. The occupation reportedly plans to detain more Palestinians in relation to the incident.
The incident took place when a group of Israeli settlers raided Palestinian farms in the village of Qusra in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus and one of them shot dead the Palestinian farmer Mahmoud Ahmed Odeh, 48.
Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman praised the settler, who opened fire at the Palestinian and killed him.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported, according to Days of Palestine, that Israeli police are likely to accept the settler’s claim that he opened fire at the Palestinian in self-defense.
Haaretz also reported that the settler claims he opened fire in the air once, and that he did not see any Palestinian causalities caused by his fire.
Arab48.com said that these claims contradict the police report that he opened fire in an act of self-defense.
Meanwhile, Israeli police are reportedly accepting a settler’s claim that he killed a Palestinian farmer, in the same incident, in an act of self-defense.
The Israeli military prosecution, which requested extension of Wadi’s remand detention, claimed, in the indictment against Wadi, that he entered a cave where settlers were hiding and threw stones at them from a close distance.
In addition, a spokesperson for the Israeli army claimed that Wadi threw one of the stones at the head of a settler and injured him.
At the end of November, Israeli occupation forces abducted 19 Palestinians over claims of taking part in the incident. The occupation reportedly plans to detain more Palestinians in relation to the incident.
The incident took place when a group of Israeli settlers raided Palestinian farms in the village of Qusra in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus and one of them shot dead the Palestinian farmer Mahmoud Ahmed Odeh, 48.
Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman praised the settler, who opened fire at the Palestinian and killed him.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported, according to Days of Palestine, that Israeli police are likely to accept the settler’s claim that he opened fire at the Palestinian in self-defense.
Haaretz also reported that the settler claims he opened fire in the air once, and that he did not see any Palestinian causalities caused by his fire.
Arab48.com said that these claims contradict the police report that he opened fire in an act of self-defense.
Palestinians pray at the site in Qusra village where Mahmoud Odeh, 48, was shot dead by an Israeli settler the previous day.
A Palestinian – but not yet any Israeli – faces serious charges over an encounter between settlers and residents of a West Bank village that left a Palestinian farmer dead last month.
Muhammad Wadi has been charged with attempted murder by an Israeli military court.
The indictment over the 30 November incident in Qusra village states that Wadi entered a cave where a group of children and one adult had taken shelter and threw large rocks at them from close range, wounding the head of the adult, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported.
Nineteen other Palestinians were arrested on suspicion of involvement, the paper added.
The deadly confrontation occurred when a group of children were led on a hike near the Palestinian village as part of a bar mitzvah celebration.
The settlers claim that Qusra residents attacked them, and that one of the hike chaperones fired his gun in self-defense, killing Mahmoud Zaal Odeh, 48.
The shooter was questioned by police on suspicions of negligent homicide and subsequently released.
Israel’s defense minister, Avigdor Lieberman, said that the Israeli man had acted in “self-defense,” claiming that a group of Palestinians had attempted to “lynch” the children.
“My thanks and recognition to the armed escort who saved the hikers from a clear and present danger to their lives,” he added.
Qusra residents, however, told media that Odeh was working his land when he was shot.
The Israeli military took Odeh’s body to Tel Aviv for autopsy without his family’s knowledge or permission, according to the rights group Adalah, before it was released to the family for burial.
A Palestinian – but not yet any Israeli – faces serious charges over an encounter between settlers and residents of a West Bank village that left a Palestinian farmer dead last month.
Muhammad Wadi has been charged with attempted murder by an Israeli military court.
The indictment over the 30 November incident in Qusra village states that Wadi entered a cave where a group of children and one adult had taken shelter and threw large rocks at them from close range, wounding the head of the adult, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported.
Nineteen other Palestinians were arrested on suspicion of involvement, the paper added.
The deadly confrontation occurred when a group of children were led on a hike near the Palestinian village as part of a bar mitzvah celebration.
The settlers claim that Qusra residents attacked them, and that one of the hike chaperones fired his gun in self-defense, killing Mahmoud Zaal Odeh, 48.
The shooter was questioned by police on suspicions of negligent homicide and subsequently released.
Israel’s defense minister, Avigdor Lieberman, said that the Israeli man had acted in “self-defense,” claiming that a group of Palestinians had attempted to “lynch” the children.
“My thanks and recognition to the armed escort who saved the hikers from a clear and present danger to their lives,” he added.
Qusra residents, however, told media that Odeh was working his land when he was shot.
The Israeli military took Odeh’s body to Tel Aviv for autopsy without his family’s knowledge or permission, according to the rights group Adalah, before it was released to the family for burial.
A week later, dozens of settlers came back to Qusra to resume the hike under heavy military guard and in the company of Israel’s deputy foreign minister Tzipi Hotovely and agriculture minister Uri Ariel:
Also with them was Itamar Ben-Gvir, a settler, extreme right-wing activist and attorney who is considered the “go-to man” for Israelis who have committed violence against Palestinians, including two teens suspected of involvement in an arson attack that killed three members of a Palestinian family in a West Bank village in 2015.
Sarit Michaeli, international advocacy officer for the Israeli rights group B’Tselem, characterized the hike as a “settler provocation parade”:
The hike ended in a photo-op and rally at the cave where settlers accused Palestinians of laying siege to the group of children.
Settler violence
Residents of Qusra have long been subjected to violence, property damage and harassment by settlers.
In September 2011, the village’s mosque was vandalized and torched with burning tires as a “price-tag” or revenge attack after police demolished three structures in the unauthorized Migron settlement outpost.
That same month, Qusra resident Issam Badran was killed by Israeli soldiers during confrontations that erupted after settlers entered village land.
A military investigation into Badran’s killing was closed without an indictment being filed.
In January 2014, Qusra residents detained more than a dozen settlers who had raided the village and attempted to uproot olive trees.
Qusra residents have also been subjected to night raids on their homes by Israeli forces as part of their “mapping procedure” to surveil the entire Palestinian civilian population.
Meanwhile, an Israeli minor from the nearby Itamar settlement who assaulted a human rights activist and threatened him with a knife was sentenced to community service for the October 2015 incident.
The teenager had attacked Arik Ascherman, then head of Rabbis for Human Rights, while the latter was helping a Palestinian farmer harvest olives.
The incident was recorded on video:
Also with them was Itamar Ben-Gvir, a settler, extreme right-wing activist and attorney who is considered the “go-to man” for Israelis who have committed violence against Palestinians, including two teens suspected of involvement in an arson attack that killed three members of a Palestinian family in a West Bank village in 2015.
Sarit Michaeli, international advocacy officer for the Israeli rights group B’Tselem, characterized the hike as a “settler provocation parade”:
The hike ended in a photo-op and rally at the cave where settlers accused Palestinians of laying siege to the group of children.
Settler violence
Residents of Qusra have long been subjected to violence, property damage and harassment by settlers.
In September 2011, the village’s mosque was vandalized and torched with burning tires as a “price-tag” or revenge attack after police demolished three structures in the unauthorized Migron settlement outpost.
That same month, Qusra resident Issam Badran was killed by Israeli soldiers during confrontations that erupted after settlers entered village land.
A military investigation into Badran’s killing was closed without an indictment being filed.
In January 2014, Qusra residents detained more than a dozen settlers who had raided the village and attempted to uproot olive trees.
Qusra residents have also been subjected to night raids on their homes by Israeli forces as part of their “mapping procedure” to surveil the entire Palestinian civilian population.
Meanwhile, an Israeli minor from the nearby Itamar settlement who assaulted a human rights activist and threatened him with a knife was sentenced to community service for the October 2015 incident.
The teenager had attacked Arik Ascherman, then head of Rabbis for Human Rights, while the latter was helping a Palestinian farmer harvest olives.
The incident was recorded on video:
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The judge who handed down the sentence against the youth “wrote that she opted for community service because a conviction could hamper the teen’s chances of getting drafted into the Israeli army, and because she believes he has a good chance at rehabilitation,” Haaretz reported.
The teenager was represented in court by Itamar Ben-Gvir. Palestinian children who are arrested by Israel on charges such as throwing stones at soldiers do not enjoy such leniency. A growing number of US lawmakers are sponsoring a bill that would require the secretary of state to annually certify that no US funds allocated to Israel are used to “support military detention, interrogation, abuse, or ill-treatment of Palestinian children.” |
The bill condemns Israel’s prosecutions of Palestinian children in military courts while Israeli settlers in the same territory live under civilian law.
Israel operates a two-tier legal system in the occupied West Bank; Palestinians are subject to military courts where they are denied basic due process and face near-certain conviction, while Israeli settlers are under the jurisdiction of Israel’s civil police and courts.
Israel operates a two-tier legal system in the occupied West Bank; Palestinians are subject to military courts where they are denied basic due process and face near-certain conviction, while Israeli settlers are under the jurisdiction of Israel’s civil police and courts.
8 dec 2017
A week after being pelted with stones, parent retaliating by shooting, Avizur Libman returned with dozens of others—including Minister Ariel, Deputy Minister Hotovely—to complete his bar mitzvah trip; 'I'm not comfortable being here, but it gives me strength to keep my head up. I'm so happy this many people came here to allow me to celebrate again,' says bar mitzvah boy.
A week after the stone throwing and subsequent shooting incident near the West Bank village of Qusra, dozens of hikers returned to the scene Friday to celebrate the bar mitzvah of Avizur Libman, thereby completing the trip that was cut short due to the attack.
The hikers stopped off at the cave where the children hid last week to shield themselves from the stones thrown at them by Palestinians. Head of the Shomron Regional Council Yossi Dagan, Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Hotovely all participated in the trip.
Large IDF forces provided security for the trip, organized by the Shomron Regional Council, due to heightened tensions in the wake of President Donald Trump's speech recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital and the ensuing riots in the West Bank.
Council chief Dagan gave Avizur a present and said, "All Avizur and his friends wanted was to go on a trip and they were prevented from doing so. We wanted to remedy their—and all of the Israeli people's—awful experience."
The bar mitzvah boy himself said, "I'm not comfortable being here, but it gives me the strength to keep my head up. My bar mitzvah party was a difficult experience. I'm so happy this many people came out here to support us and allow me to celebrate again."
His mother, Racheli Libman, said, "It's both moving and difficult returning here, and thinking of the awful things my sons and the other children went through here. It gives me the chills. On the other hand, we chose to return despite the difficulty to send a message that we do not break easily. It is our right to freely hike anywhere in this country and that is the right we exercised today."
Agriculture Minister Ariel said, "I'm pleased to be hiking in Samaria with the children who were rescued from being lynched and were real heroes."
Deputy Minister Hotovely remarked, "It's the right of children to hike anywhere in Israel free of fear. This trip is a remedial experience for the bar mitzvah trip so callously interrupted with a violent attack. I'm here to support the children of Samaria and send an unequivocal message: we will not be cowed, we carry on."
Large police and military forces raided the village of Qusra early Thursday and arrested more than twenty Palestinians who were suspected of participating in disturbances taking place in the village in the last several days.
The Honenu legal defense organization that accompanies the families of the children who participated in the trip welcomed the arrest and appealed to bring additional culprits not yet apprehended to justice as well.
A week after the stone throwing and subsequent shooting incident near the West Bank village of Qusra, dozens of hikers returned to the scene Friday to celebrate the bar mitzvah of Avizur Libman, thereby completing the trip that was cut short due to the attack.
The hikers stopped off at the cave where the children hid last week to shield themselves from the stones thrown at them by Palestinians. Head of the Shomron Regional Council Yossi Dagan, Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Hotovely all participated in the trip.
Large IDF forces provided security for the trip, organized by the Shomron Regional Council, due to heightened tensions in the wake of President Donald Trump's speech recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital and the ensuing riots in the West Bank.
Council chief Dagan gave Avizur a present and said, "All Avizur and his friends wanted was to go on a trip and they were prevented from doing so. We wanted to remedy their—and all of the Israeli people's—awful experience."
The bar mitzvah boy himself said, "I'm not comfortable being here, but it gives me the strength to keep my head up. My bar mitzvah party was a difficult experience. I'm so happy this many people came out here to support us and allow me to celebrate again."
His mother, Racheli Libman, said, "It's both moving and difficult returning here, and thinking of the awful things my sons and the other children went through here. It gives me the chills. On the other hand, we chose to return despite the difficulty to send a message that we do not break easily. It is our right to freely hike anywhere in this country and that is the right we exercised today."
Agriculture Minister Ariel said, "I'm pleased to be hiking in Samaria with the children who were rescued from being lynched and were real heroes."
Deputy Minister Hotovely remarked, "It's the right of children to hike anywhere in Israel free of fear. This trip is a remedial experience for the bar mitzvah trip so callously interrupted with a violent attack. I'm here to support the children of Samaria and send an unequivocal message: we will not be cowed, we carry on."
Large police and military forces raided the village of Qusra early Thursday and arrested more than twenty Palestinians who were suspected of participating in disturbances taking place in the village in the last several days.
The Honenu legal defense organization that accompanies the families of the children who participated in the trip welcomed the arrest and appealed to bring additional culprits not yet apprehended to justice as well.
