Ramle: 'Honor killing' caught on tape

A 26-year-old resident of Ramle was indicted in the Tel Aviv District Court on Wednesday on charges of murdering his 24-year-old sister Miriam by stabbing her 29 times. Basel Abu-Dahal was caught on tape by security cameras at a parking lot of Bank Hapoalim in Ramle two weeks ago. In the footage, he is seen stabbing his sister while passers-by witness the act and do nothing. He is then seen calmly walking away carrying the knife (see images). According to the indictment, Abu-Dahal, a former felon, stabbed his sister with a 23-centimeter knife. In his interrogation, he admitted to the stabbing, claiming he perpetrated the crime because of what he claimed was the improper way in which his sister had raised her daughter. A passerby found Miriam and alerted the paramedics who were unable to resuscitate her. Abu-Dahal was apprehended nearby with blood stains on his clothes after citizens called the police saying they saw a man chase a woman with a knife. In his interrogation, Abu-Dahal said he had committed the act because of "honor," stressing that he was "willing to do the time for the sake of honor." 'Honor killings' are a phenomena in Arab communities in which women are murdered by their relatives because the family believes that the woman's actions have besmirched the family honor. Of the 15 'family honor' murders known to police committed in 2005, three occurred in Ramle.