"Because they are Arabs"... A chase and run-over ends with the death of Fouad Alayan and the injury of his cousin Baraa
Fouad and Baraa Alayan, two young men from the village of Beit Safafa, south of Jerusalem, had no idea that their coffee session in a public park in the Katamon neighborhood would be Fouad's last, and a culmination of pain and suffering for Baraa.
Last week, the cousins headed to the park to spend some time before being verbally attacked by a group of settlers. They demanded they leave, claiming that "they are Arabs and this is not the place for them," and threatened them with knives.
Riyad Alayan, Baraa's father and Fouad's uncle, said that Baraa and Fouad called the police immediately after the incident, but they arrived at the scene, searched the two young men, and detained them for a short time, without taking any action against the attacking settlers.
Last weekend, the two young men returned to the same park, a public space, only to be confronted once again by the same group of settlers, who began insulting and threatening them. The altercation escalated into a deadly chase, as if an ambush had been waiting for them.
After Fouad and Baraa left the park on their motorcycles, they were pursued by a car with two settlers. When they stopped at a traffic light, the car sped toward them at high speed. The two young men attempted to flee toward the sidewalk, but the settler deliberately ran them over, running over Fouad twice, killing him instantly. Baraa suffered fractures to his limbs and remains in Shaare Zedek Hospital.
Fouad's brother confirmed that the police informed the family of a video recording from the settler's camera showing that the attack was deliberate. He expressed surprise that one of the suspects was released while only the other's detention was extended. The Israeli police initially issued a statement describing the incident as a "traffic accident," but later retracted its statement, saying it was a "deliberate ramming attack" and that an investigation was underway.
The residents of Beit Safafa emphasized that what happened was not a criminal incident, as the police are trying to portray it, but rather a deliberate, racist-motivated ramming attack. They demanded that the killers be held accountable. The body of the martyr Fouad was held for four days before being returned to his family.
