For my part he can die, says Israeli suspect behind beating of Palestinian

Scores of Israeli youths assaulted a group of Palestinians last week,beating one unconscious as hundreds of bystanders watched without intervening in the heart of West Jerusalem,the police said

ISABEL KERSHNER

Scores of Israeli youths assaulted a group of Palestinians last week,beating one unconscious as hundreds of bystanders watched without intervening in the heart of West Jerusalem,the police said Monday,announcing that among the seven people arrested was a 13-year-old boy and two teenage girls.

On Monday,some of the teenage suspects commented near the courthouse where they were remanded,adding to the shocking nature of the case. For my part he can die, said one of the suspects,who admitted taking part in the assault. Hes an Arab, he told reporters outside the courtroom by way of explanation. He cursed my mother. If it was up to me,Id have murdered him, he added.

The attack,described by one witness as a lynch, has laid bare the undercurrent of Jewish-Arab tensions that plague this mixed but politically divided city.

The police said the episode started as a brawl on Thursday,after a girl in a crowd of Israeli youths complained that she had been harassed by an Arab. Micky Rosenfeld,a police spokesman,said that her comments spurred the crowd to seek vengeance.

The police said the crowd arbitrarily focused on Jamal Julani,17,and his friends,beating Julani until he passed out. According to those questioned,there was a fight,there was cursing, Rosenfeld said. One thing led to another.

Julani,a resident of the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Ras al-Amud,which is predominantly Palestinian,regained consciousness Sunday. In an interview,he said he had no memory of what had happened to him and could not even remember being downtown Thursday.