Abbas meets family of murdered east Jerusalem teen

Abbas also received the family of Tariq Abu Khdeir, a cousin of the slain teenager, who was reportedly beaten by policemen during the riots in Shuafat.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
HUSSEIN ABU KHDEIR, father of Palestinian teenager Muhammad Abu Khdeir, holds a poster with his son’s picture as he meets PA President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah. (photo credit: REUTERS)
HUSSEIN ABU KHDEIR, father of Palestinian teenager Muhammad Abu Khdeir, holds a poster with his son’s picture as he meets PA President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday received in his office the family of murdered teenager Muhammad Abu Khdeir.
Abbas also received the family of Tariq Abu Khdeir, a cousin of the slain teenager, who was reportedly beaten by policemen during the riots in Shuafat.
Abbas told the families from east Jerusalem that he would pursue their cases at “all international forums so that the culprits would be punished and we would gain all our rights.”
Referring to the abduction and murder of the teenager, Abbas said: “Regrettably, we are dealing with people who don’t understand the meaning of humanity.”
Abbas said the murder “reminds us of things that happened in the past. They shouldn’t have done this because they say that they suffered from massacres and killings.”
The PA president was referring to the Holocaust.
Abbas told the families that the Palestinians wouldn’t remain silent in the face of this “ugly crime.”
From now on, he added, “We wouldn’t remain silent over these crimes that are being perpetrated against our people. Not only the crimes of killings and torture, but also settlements and settler assaults, cutting of trees and attacks on mosques.”
Abbas said Jerusalem will “remain our eternal capital.” The PA, he added, is now studying ways of supporting Jerusalem in various fields.
Ishaq Abu Khdeir, a representative of the victim’s family, said Shuafat was “proud to have presented a martyr for the homeland. He won’t be the first and last martyr.”
The representative denied that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu phoned the family to offer his condolences over the murder. “This is a false claim,” he said.
The father of the murdered teenager said he received dozens of phone calls from Israelis and foreigners and peace activists during the day. He said he did not know if Netanyahu was among the callers.