President expresses condolences to Rahat mayor following recent violence in the Beduin city.
By GREER FAY CASHMANBeduin women in Rahat, Israel.(photo credit: REUTERS)
President Reuven Rivlin on Monday telephoned Rahat Mayor Talal al-Krenawi to lament the needless clashes and violence in the Beduin town and nearby villages in the Negev in recent days.Rivlin also expressed condolences over the death of Rahat resident Sami al-Ajar who died last week of an abdominal gunshot wound after police arrived to conduct a potential drug bust.Several people were hurt in the clashes, and one died of a heart attack that was possibly the result of the severe tensions between the police and the people of Rahat.Rivlin asked al-Krenawi to convey his condolences to the families of the two dead men, and to the Beduin community as a whole, and wished those who were injured a speedy recovery,.Rivlin said that it is imperative to calm the tensions as quickly as possible.He also expressed full confidence in the police in their investigations to determine whether the bullet that killed al-Ajar was from a police gun.He said that he was also certain that Police Chief Yohanan Danino was doing all that was possible to restore quite and security to the area. Rivlin emphasized that Israel has an obligation to deal with the grievances of the Beduin community, “and it is important that we do that together,” he said.He also expressed appreciation to al-Krenawi for all that he is doing to bring the situation back to normal.Rivlin subsequently spoke to Danino and briefed him on his conversation with al-Krenawi.
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