Palestinians fight for lives after vicious attacks

Israeli authorities are lax in pursuing Israelis suspected of attacking Palestinians, noting few indictments or convictions in dozens of cases of assaults on Palestinians and their property every year, according to activists. They also accuse some of Israel’s leaders of creating a toxic atmosphere by condoning — and even encouraging — violence against Arabs. Two vicious attacks on Palestinians, reported recent days, have some Israelis worried that their society is increasingly tolerant of hate crimes. Unknown assailants firebombed a Palestinian taxi in the West Bank a few days ago. Hours later, a mob of Jewish teens beat a 17-year-old Palestinian unconscious in Jerusalem. President Shimon Peres said he was “mortified” by the “intolerable” attack on the teen. Seven people, aged 13 to 19, have been arrested in connection with the assault on 17-year-old Jamal Julani. Bystanders watched as he was kicked and beaten. He was in critical condition when he was brought into a Jerusalem hospital on Firday. He has since regained consciousness but remains hospitalized, a spokeswoman for Hadassah Medical Center said yesterday. Police said no arrests have been made in Thursday’s firebombing of the Palestinian taxi, which wounded the six people inside. One remained in intensive care yesterday, and four others also remained hospitalized, Israeli officials said. Jamal Julani is a resident of the Ras Al-Amud district of East Jerusalem. He said he had no memory of the incident after regaining consciousness, but his cousin, Mohammed Mujahid, said they had been walking along a road near Zion Square with four other friends when a group of about 40 or 50 youths began to chase them. “They were shouting: ‘Arabs, death to Arabs,’” he said. from:arabsnews