Palestinian Authority Wants Role in Probe of Killings of 3 Muslims in North Carolina
Tears and Flowers: Palestinians toss flowers into the Mediterranean Sea to mourn the murders of three Palestinian-Americans in North Carolina. Image by getty images
The Palestinian government on Saturday condemned as “terrorism” the killings of three young Palestinian-Americans in North Carolina and called on U.S. authorities to include its investigators in the probe.
Police have charged a neighbor with Tuesday’s shooting in the town of Chapel Hill of Deah Barakat, 23, his wife Yusor Abu-Salha, 21, and her sister Razan Abu-Salha, 19, saying the incident followed a dispute over parking.
But investigators said they were also looking into whether the suspect, Craig Stephen Hicks, was motivated by hatred toward the victims because they were Muslim.
Branding Hicks “an American extremist and hateful racist,” the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said the incident suggested a rise in dangerous discrimination against American Muslims.
“We consider it a serious indication of the growth of racism and religious extremism which is a direct threat to the lives of hundreds of thousands of American citizens who follow the Islamic faith,” the ministry said in a statement.
It called for “a serious investigation and the involvement of Palestinian investigators to clarify the circumstances of these assassinations and premeditated murders” in Chapel Hill.
On Thursday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan criticized U.S. President Barack Obama for “staying silent” over the murders, which have garnered international attention and left some American Muslims feeling concerned about their safety.
“This has hate crime written all over it,” said the slain women’s father, Mohammad Abu-Salha.
On Friday, Obama issued a statement describing the incident as “brutal and outrageous” and said no one in the United States should be targeted for their religion.
Police have charged a neighbor with Tuesday’s shooting in the town of Chapel Hill of Deah Barakat, 23, his wife Yusor Abu-Salha, 21, and her sister Razan Abu-Salha, 19, saying the incident followed a dispute over parking.
But investigators said they were also looking into whether the suspect, Craig Stephen Hicks, was motivated by hatred toward the victims because they were Muslim.
Branding Hicks “an American extremist and hateful racist,” the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said the incident suggested a rise in dangerous discrimination against American Muslims.
“We consider it a serious indication of the growth of racism and religious extremism which is a direct threat to the lives of hundreds of thousands of American citizens who follow the Islamic faith,” the ministry said in a statement.
It called for “a serious investigation and the involvement of Palestinian investigators to clarify the circumstances of these assassinations and premeditated murders” in Chapel Hill.
On Thursday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan criticized U.S. President Barack Obama for “staying silent” over the murders, which have garnered international attention and left some American Muslims feeling concerned about their safety.
“This has hate crime written all over it,” said the slain women’s father, Mohammad Abu-Salha.
On Friday, Obama issued a statement describing the incident as “brutal and outrageous” and said no one in the United States should be targeted for their religion.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
