Terrorist's mourning tent dismantled

Police order removal of tent erected for Dwayat; Ramon: Strip e. J'lem Arabs of Israeli ID cards.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
haim ramon 248.88 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
haim ramon 248.88
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
Jerusalem border police ordered the family of Husam Taysir Dwayat - the man who perpetrated the deadly bulldozer terror attack in Jerusalem on Wednesday - to dismantle a mourning tent which they were erecting in memory of the man on Thursday. According to reports, officers who had been stationed in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sur Bahir following yesterday's attack observed members of the Dwayat family beginning the process of establishing the tent, this despite explicit instructions from Jerusalem police chief Aharon Franco forbidding the act. The latest development regarding the Dwayat family comes amid comments made by ministers - including Prime Minister Ehud Olmert - over what punishment, if any, should be carried out against the family. Earlier on Thursday, Vice Premier Haim Ramon said that Sur Bahir, the hometown of Husam Taysir Dwayat, as well Jebl Mukaber, the village of the Mercaz Harav terrorist, should be treated like any Palestinian village; they should be separated from Jerusalem and all of their residents should be stripped of their Israeli identity cards. "One of the central reasons for the ease with which yesterday's attack and the murder in Mercaz Harav were perpetrated is the fact that these are Palestinian villages that for some reason are called 'Jerusalem' - Jebl Mukaber and Sur Bahir," Ramon told Army Radio. "They must be treated as if they were Ramallah, Bethlehem or Jenin." "These are Palestinian villages that were never part of Jerusalem; they were annexed in 1967. No Israeli was there and no one goes near there," Ramon continued. "If the fence were west of the two villages; those that for some reason we call neighborhoods of Jerusalem, it would be far harder to carry out such attacks. They must not have blue identity cards - how many more Israelis must die before this is decided." Ramon voiced disagreement with the view of Olmert and several other ministers, claiming that demolishing the terrorist's house would do nothing to prevent further attacks. However, he said, the demolition must be carried out regardless - if the law allows it. "We must adapt the law to policy and not give up," he said. "Whatever can be done must be done as soon as possible." Hours after three people were killed when a terrorist in a bulldozer went on a rampage in downtown Jerusalem, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that the attacker's east Jerusalem home must be destroyed. Olmert held consultations in his office following the attack and Jerusalem officials said that the prime minister was expected to discuss the possibility of destroying the terrorist's home with Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann. He is also set to discuss taking away National Insurance Institute (NII) rights from the terrorist's family. Defense Minister Ehud Barak also said that Israel should demolish the terrorist's home. In a telephone conversation with Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski, Barak reportedly said that he did not understand why the house of the terrorist who perpetrated the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva attack on March 6 had not yet been demolished, and promised that he would push for the structure to be torn down.