Tel Aviv - Police in Tel Aviv on Tuesday said they were
fearful of reprisals following the murder the previous day of an Arab
taxi driver in what was believed to have been a hate crime.
Chief Superintendent Nissim Bracha told Army Radio that police
forces had been reinforced in the Tel Aviv area, according to The
Jerusalem Post.
Driver Taisir Karaki, a 35-year-old resident of the Jerusalem
neighbourhood of Beit Hanina, had his throat slit Monday after being
lured to an apartment in central Tel Aviv.
A 26-year-old recent immigrant from France, who along with his
brother was arrested after they were spotted acting suspiciously,
later confessed to the crime.
The suspected murderer, identified as Julian Sofir, said he had
carried out the crime 'because the victim was an Arab,' The Jerusalem
Post reported.
The extent of the involvement of the younger brother, 21, was
still being investigated, police said.
Arab lawmakers blamed the threats against Arabs in Israel for the
Arab driver's death. 'The dehumanization and incitement by the right
wing against the Arab population give a stamp of approval for violent
attacks of this nature and makes the blood of Arabs cheap,' Army
Radio quoted parliamentarians as saying.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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