". . . Certain things keep going through my mind. The question that cuts through my heart is: How is it possible to come and murder innocent people, just like that, without any thought about what will happen to their families? It's such a barbaric deed that the mind can't take it in. I am in a state of shock. And I was in shock before this, too, when Jewish friends of mine from Hadera were killed in terrorist attacks. I have lost two friends to terrorist attacks."He then talks about how the only official counseling for victims of terrorism is for Jews.
What is the thought that keeps going through your mind?
Hasan: "The thought that we, the Palestinians of 1948, share a terrible fate: war, distress and death. It's an old thought that now takes on new and far deeper meaning."
Share with who - with the Palestinians in the territories?
"No, by `we' I mean me and you - the Jewish Israelis. We have a common fate. They kill Jews and they kill us. I feel that I am an Israeli, I identify 100 percent with the state."
And don't you identify with your people, with the Palestinians?
"In certain things I do identify, of course. But I can't identify with people who organize terrorist attacks or with the perpetrators. Not before my brother was killed and not after. I understand a state that says: If someone kicks you, kick him back. They have broken all the rules. It was the duty of the Palestinian leadership to put a stop to it."
"So the attention of an elected Arab body, such as the monitoring committee, is important to us. If we received psychological support, reinforcement, encouragement - that is worth more than any monetary compensation. They are there because of us, but when disaster strikes, they're not with us. Two Arab Knesset members visited during the mourning period: Ahmed Tibi [Hadash] and Jamal Zahalka [Balad]. We didn't hear a word from the other Arab MKs."The reporter speaks to Shawki Khatib, the chairman of the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee
Could he provide a list of the names of the Arab citizens of Israel who were killed in terrorist attacks? Khatib hemmed and hawed, and finally had to admit that he did not have such a list. His office has no documentation concerning attacks in which Arabs were killed or wounded.Khatib goes on to shift the responsibility to the Israeli goverment and adds some boilerplate rhetoric about the "occupation." The Israeli government does not list Arab citizens separately from Jewish ones.
The Jaber family had a different experience:
. . . in my case the entire Palestinian leadership sent condolence cables and some government representatives from Egypt and Jordan came. A senior member of the Palestinian Authority visited Suad's parents."
Did you feel the PA was taking responsibility for Suad's death?
"Yes, definitely. I don't know what the situation is in the other families."
Does this also have a financial aspect?
"Of course not. Heaven forbid. No one talked about that or mentioned it, and even if it had come up, we would not have been ready to hear about it. There is a law in this country and there are authorities that deal with families who are victims of hostilities. We are like everyone else. By the way, all the Arab MKs, without exception, visited."
No representatives of the PA called on the other bereaved families. Maybe it's because you are a well-known family and publish a paper?
"Maybe. I don't know. All in all, we are a modest family."
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