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Arabs demand protection for christian shrine Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.forbes.com/business/energy/feeds/ap/2006/03/04/ap2570486.htmlhttp://www.forbes.com/business/energy/feeds/ap/2006/03/04/ap2570486.html
Associated Press
Update 9: Thousands of Israeli Arabs Protest Attack
By SARAH EL DEEB , 03.04.2006, 02:48 PM
Thousands of Israeli Arab protesters marched through the streets of this biblical town Saturday demanding better protection for holy sites after a troubled family set off firecrackers inside a major Christian shrine.
The emotional reaction to the attack on the Basilica of the Annunciation reflected the fragile status of Israel's Arab minority, which has long claimed it suffers discrimination at the hands of the Jewish majority.
Many participants accused the government of failing to prevent the attack, and rejected the official claim that Friday's attack was driven by personal distress, and not politically motivated.
An Israeli couple accompanied by their daughter interrupted a Lent prayer service by exploding firecrackers in the basilica, one of Christianity's most revered sites. The attack caused only light damage, but set off a riot that injured two dozen people, including 13 police officers.
Police said the man involved in the attack, Haim Eliyahu Habibi, has financial problems and apparently is not a Jewish extremist. Habibi's Christian wife, Violet, and their 20-year-old daughter were treated at a hospital before being taken into custody early Saturday.
"The Israeli institution is trying to explain the aggression by saying that anyone who did this is mentally unstable," said Ramez Jaraisah, Nazareth's Christian mayor. "We refuse to accept any excuse for this criminal act."
Israeli Arabs, who make up about 20 percent of the country's population, have long complained of systematic discrimination in housing, education and jobs.
Nazareth, the boyhood town of Jesus, is inhabited by about 74,000 Israeli Arabs, two-thirds of them Muslim and the remainder Christian.
Several thousand people led by Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah, local Christian leaders and Arab lawmakers joined the protest, snaking through the town's narrow streets to the basilica. Marchers clapped and sang songs, amid the chiming of church bells.
Participants held up Palestinian flags and banners with slogans such as "Israel breeds hate."
Habibi's daughter told investigators her parents wanted to draw attention to their troubles and protest Israeli authorities' decision to put two younger children in foster care, police said. Police said Habibi had made previous threats to attack churches.
Many marchers accused Israeli authorities of failing to protect the basilica, which was not guarded at the time of the attack.
Police stayed away from the march to avoid raising tensions and the demonstration ended peacefully.
With national elections approaching at the end of the month, Israeli officials rushed to calm the fears of Arab leaders. Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called the mayor after Friday's attack, and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni contacted the Vatican to pledge Israel's commitment to protecting Christian holy places.
Israeli police commander Moshe Karadi ordered a review of security at Christian holy sites, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.
But tensions remained high. In northern Israel, where much of the country's Arab population lives, police postponed at least seven soccer matches, fearing riots.
In the Gaza Strip, Ismail Haniyeh, the designated Palestinian prime minister from the Islamic militant group Hamas said the attack was the result "of a hate culture which Israel is feeding its public against the Palestinians."
Despite tensions between Jews and Arabs in Israel, violence is rare. Last August, a Jewish army deserter killed four Israeli Arabs in a shooting rampage on a bus. The attacker was killed by a mob.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed
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