Kafr Qasim commemorates 63 years since massacre

"We continue to demand in the name of the victims and their families that the government of Israel have courage and recognize the responsibility of the state for this terrible massacre."

Kafr Qasim commemorates 63 years since massacre (photo credit: Courtesy)
Kafr Qasim commemorates 63 years since massacre
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Residents of Kafr Qasim commemorated on Tuesday 63 years since the 1956 Kafr Qasim massacre in which 48 Arab civilians were killed by Israeli Border Police.
"After 63 years, we continue to demand in the name of the victims and their families that the government of Israel have courage and recognize the responsibility of the state for this terrible massacre – along with all that entails legally, ethically, historically and financially," said a statement about the commemoration. "Without recognizing [the responsibility] like this, the stain and shame will continue to stick on the forehead of the State of Israel."
"63 years since the Kafr Qasim massacre in which 49 Arab civilians were killed at the hands of Border Police," tweeted Joint List MK Aida Touma-Sliman, who included the unborn child of one of the victims. "We continue to demand justice for the families of the victims, recognition by Israel of the massacre and its responsibility [for it], and commemoration of the horrific act. We will not give up."
Prior to a visit by President Reuven Rivlin to the commemoration in Kafr Qasim last year, Israeli officials did everything they could to evade responsibility for the killing of 48 Arab civilians who, unaware of a curfew due to wartime conditions, either left their homes or were on the way home.
Greer Fay Cashman contributed to this report.