by Efrat Forsher, Daniel Siryoti, Yori Yalon and Israel Hayom Staff
Palestinian man was first to offer assistance after Route 60 terrorist attack that killed Rabbi Michael Mark • PA says dismissal due to budget cuts, but only one person is fired • Family raises $26,000 to honor teen Hallel Yaffa, slain in separate attack.
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The scene of the Route 60
terrorist attack
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Photo credit: EPA |
A Palestinian man who was first to offer assistance at the scene of the Route 60 terrorist attack
that killed Rabbi Michael Mark and injured his wife and daughter last
month has been dismissed from his public service job in the Palestinian
Authority.
J., whose full name has not been made public,
was the first of two Palestinians who provided assistance to the Mark
family immediately following the attack. Dr. Ali Abu Sherech, a doctor
from the Hebron area, also stopped at the scene within minutes of the
attack and provided medical care to the family.
A relative of J.'s told Israel Hayom that
"since it became clear that he was the first to arrive at the scene of
the attack and that he helped the victims, he and his family have been
subjected to a smear campaign and received threats.
"He is not scared, but it bothers him that he
and his family have become outcasts since the event. More than anything,
it hurts him that he was fired from his job in the public sector of the
Palestinian Authority. They told him that he was let go because of
budget cuts, but he was the only one who was fired a few days after the
incident."
The relative stressed that J. does not regret his decision to help the Mark family.
"Even in a war, you don't hurt a wounded enemy
and you provide assistance, and that is what he did," he said. "If he
could go back, he would do the exact same thing."
The Palestinian Authority has declined to comment on the incident.
Har Hebron Regional Council head Yochai Damari
wrote in a Facebook post that "J. arrived on the scene seconds after
the attack and he worked to free the children from the vehicle and to
release the seat belt that was strangling the mother, Havi. Afterward,
he even watched over the children in his own car and saw to it that
nobody hurt them or kidnapped them -- this despite the fact that people
in the dozens of cars that passed by threatened him and demanded that he
refuse to help Jews."
Damari added that he had met with J., who had
asked him to help arrange an Israeli work permit for him. Following the
meeting, Damari approached Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman asking for
help.
"In situations like these, it is our duty as a
Jewish nation to show gratitude toward people who behave like
upstanding human beings," Damari wrote. "Specifically at a time like
this, it is important to strengthen the positive forces and to send a
clear message that normal and positive behavior like this will result in
a normal and positive reward from us."
Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked commented on the issue during a visit to the Har Hebron area.
"I understand that the Palestinian Authority
fired the person who helped the Mark family," she said. "This is the
behavior of [an organization] that encourages terrorism. I will demand
of the U.N. secretary-general to take action to stop this abuse of
someone whose only sin was to help injured Jews."
Mark's wife, Havi, who was seriously injured
in the attack, underwent surgery Monday at the Hadassah Ein Kerem
Hospital and is reported to be in good condition. Neurosurgery
Department head Dr. Yigal Shoshann said, "The surgery was complex and
related to the injuries from the attack. It went well and Havi is now
awake and communicating with all of us."
The Mark family has expressed gratitude to the public for the support and prayers received.
Meanwhile, an amount exceeding 100,000 shekels
($26,000) was raised in less than two weeks to help fund a visitors'
center in memory of Hallel Yaffa Ariel, the 13-year-old girl who was
murdered in her sleep in a terrorist attack at her home in Kiryat Arba in late June.
The family's goal is to raise a total of
450,000 shekels ($118,000) toward the memorial project. The center will
be built at the Ariel family's winery, where the slain girl loved to
work. The funds are being raised on Israeli crowd-funding site
Headstart.
Ariel's parents, Rina and Amichai, are calling
on the public to continue supporting the initiative and have expressed
gratitude for the donations received so far: "We are full of
appreciation for all those who have supported us until now -- it is
further testimony to our amazing and warm nation."
Efrat Forsher, Daniel Siryoti, Yori Yalon and Israel Hayom Staff
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=35583&hp=1
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