By Ihab Rimawi
RAMALLAH, Friday, January 25, 2019 (WAFA) – A few days ago, Israeli courts released four out of five Jewish settlers complicit in the stoning to death of Palestinian woman Aisha Rabi in October 2018, citing lack of sufficient evidence as a pretext for their release.
On Thursday, an Israeli court served a reduced indictment against the fifth settler and accused him of “unintentionally causing murder” of Rabi, but not directly involved in her killing, despite evidence proving that he was only few meters away from the vehicle she was in when he pelted the car with a stone hitting her head and causing her to die.
“They [the Israelis] can serve many excuses to justify a reduced sentence against the killers,” says Yaqoub Rabi, Aisha’s husband. “I have promised myself and my children to return the stolen right of my martyred wife.”
Since Aisha was killed on October 12 last year, the husband would not leave his hometown of Bidya in the central West Bank at nighttime. He says he does not to feel safe while walking on roads outside the village, fearing a new attack by illegal Jewish settlers.
But Yaqoub believes that the most important achievement since the murder of his wife was the non-registration of the case against an unknown person -- as is usually the case when settlers are convicted in murdering Palestinians, although he knows very well that the case may take many years.
Sha’wan Jabarin, director of the Ramallah-based Al-Haq human rights group, described Israel’s trial of the five settlers as a “red herring”. In other words, he says, while Israel claims it is prosecuting the five settlers, in reality all of such prosecution is just misleading.
“Israel is trying to alleviate this crime by saying that the killers are children, despite the fact that the incident occurred not far away from Israeli soldiers and in a public street that is strictly controlled by the occupation forces,” he says.
“On the other hand, if a Palestinian kid threw a stone at a settler‘s car,” Jabarin adds, “he will be brought to trial and his home will be attacked [by Israeli army] in middle of the night. His home might also be demolished.”
“Israeli settlers represent a state policy and are supported by the official apparatus. Therefore, the state [of Israel] will certainly make sure they are safe and that they must go unpunished.”
M.N
