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An unidentified Palestinian inspects the burned house of Mehdi Khouryeh, one of 13 Christian homes burned down by Muslims in the village of Taibeh. (AP)
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners September 5, 2005 |
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| Palestinian security officers step out of the burned house of Mehdi Khouryeh. (AP) |
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It began as yet another "honor killing," common in the Arab world: a young woman was poisoned, allegedly by her family, over an extramarital affair. But this was had an inter-religious twist.
She was a Muslim, he was a Christian, and 13 of his relatives' homes were burned down by an angry mob, all Muslims from the dead woman's clan.
The woman's family insist they were simply dispensing tribal justice. But some Christians say they were targeted because of their religion, reflecting growing concerns about sectarian violence after decades of tolerant coexistence between the Muslim majority and the dwindling Christian minority.
On Monday, dozens of Palestinian security forces were deployed in Taibeh to keep the peace, and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas asked his attorney general to prepare a detailed report on the incident. European representatives in the West Bank pressed local officials to ensure the safety of the Christian minority.
The roots of the fatal feud lie in a love affair.
Hiyam Ajaj, 30, worked in a sewing shop in the mostly Christian village of Taibeh. She fell in love with her boss, Mehdi Khouriyeh, and for two years they had an affair. About six months ago, she got pregnant, and several days ago, her family found out.
On Thursday morning, the young woman was found dead.
Her family said she was raped but nonetheless welcomed her death -- which they claimed was suicide -- as a just punishment. They defended the raid on Taibeh, aimed at houses of her lover's relatives.
But was the attack religiously motivated?
Some Christians in Taibeh, mostly the young men in the Khouriyye clan, say it was.
"The people of Deir Jreer are known to be racists," said Suleiman Khouriyye, a cousin of Mehdi, weeping and pointing to his burned home. "They did this because we're Christians. They did this because we are the weaker ones."
Malek Khouriyye, Suleiman's father, scolded his son for the sectarian claims, saying they are not true.
"We've been living together for decades and we've never had a problem," said Malek, sitting at a friend's house surrounded by his three sons and their wives, all of them now homeless.
"These are just some backward troublesome elements in society that are trying to create a problem between Christians and Muslims," he said.
According to the Khouriyye's and several other town residents, the angry mob that raided the village shouted anti Christian slogans as they trashed and burned down homes, including chants like "lets burn the infidels, lets burn the Crusaders."
The Ajaj clan, including Hiyam's cousin who participated in the raid, deny the claims.
"We burned their houses because they dishonored our family, not because they are Christians," said Khaled Ajaj.
Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashrawi said that during more than four years of conflict with Israel, Palestinians have increasingly resorted to tribal law for justice.
Citing the Taibeh incident as a gruesome reminder of the continued practice of "honor killings," Ashrawi said the acts of violence and counter-violence in family feuds happen in part because there is no authority that Palestinians can rely on.
"This is a very serious development," Ashrawi said. "We are witnessing some sort of regression in social norms. Palestine has always been famous for its tolerance, pluralism, amicable relations, lack of discrimination and sectarianism. It is quite alarming that such incidents should take place."
Khouriyeh is now being held in "protective custody" and is periodically beaten in his cell, the Guardian reported. He has asked for the body of the poisoned women to be checked for DNA, claiming that the baby was not his.
Last May, Faten Habash, a 23-year-old Christian from the West Bank city of Ramallah, fell in love a Muslim man. Eventually, her father killed her, splitting her head open with a metal pipe. At the time, she was in a wheelchair with a broken hip, an injury she sustained after trying to commit suicide by jumping out of her father's third floor apartment.
Last year, more than 30 women are known to have been killed in the name of family honor in the West Bank and Gaza.
However, women's rights groups say it is hard to count the actual number of "honor killings" in the Palestinian territories or in any other male-dominated Arab societies where the practice of killing women for having sex outside marriage, dating, simply talking to men or even for being raped, is still practiced.
The AP contributed to this report.
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