PA TV program extols Fogel family killers, exposed by PMW
Palestinian vandals' graffiti on biblical tombs praises killers of Israeli family
JERUSALEM, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Israeli worshipers visiting the tombs of 70 Jewish Biblical figures in the West Bank on Wednesday, were horrified to discover graffiti sprayed on the shrines that lauded the Palestinian killers of five members of an Israel family.
Witnesses from among the 500 visitors said the vandals sprayed expressions in Arabic on the tombstone of biblical Elazar, son of Aharon the brother of Moses. The graffiti glorified two cousins, Amjad and Hakim Awad, from the village of Awarta, near Nablus, according to the Ynet news site.
Last March the two infiltrated the nearby settlement of Itamar, where they entered the Fogel family home and stabbed to death the father, mother, and three small children -- including an infant -- in their sleep.
An Israeli military court last month sentenced Amjad to five life sentences -- 132 years -- for the brutal murders. His cousin, Hakim, received an identical sentence in September.
An Israeli media watchdog group last week reported that official Palestinian television recently aired a program that included interviews with the parents and relatives of the Awads, who extolled the two.
In the broadcast, Hakim's mother proudly noted her son's part in the slaughter, and an aunt said her nephew was "a hero and legend," according to the Palestinian Media Watch group.