George Elias Khoury (1983 - March 19, 2004, Arabic: جورج إلياس خوري, Hebrew: ג'ורג' אליאס ח'ורי) was an Israeli Arab murdered by a Palestinian terrorist while jogging in the neighborhood of French Hill in Jerusalem.[1] Khoury, son of Elias Khoury, a prominent lawyer, was a law student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the military branch of the Fatah movement, claimed responsibility for the attack. According to the New York Times, the "Palestinian gunman mistook him for a Jew."[2] Khoury's father said, "I am against all violent attacks against innocent civilians whether it be against Israeli civilians or Palestinian civilians."[2]
Fatah apologized and offered to declare him a martyr for the Palestinian cause. Ibrahim Kandalaft, Arafat's adviser on Christian affairs, eulogized Khoury on behalf of the PA chairman, describing him as a shaheed (martyr) of the Palestinian cause. But the victim's mother interrupted him by declaring that her son was an "angel, not a shaheed."[3]
George's grandfather, Daoud Khoury, was also assassinated in an attack in Jerusalem, when a booby-trapped refrigerator exploded at Zion Square.[4]
Khoury was buried in the Christian cemetery on Mount Zion.[5]
References
edit- ^ "Archives". Los Angeles Times. 21 March 2004.
- ^ a b "Jogger Slain in Palestinian 'Mistake' Was a Student Who Straddled the Mideast Divide," Greg Myre, March 21, 2004, New York Times.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-09-25. Retrieved 2014-03-19.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Bennet, James (2004-07-16). "Isolated and Angry, Gaza Battles Itself, Too". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
- ^ "George Khoury". Haaretz. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
External links
edit- Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center: Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades Murder Israeli Arab Student in Jerusalem
- Maariv International: Al Aqsa Brigades kill Israeli Arab they thought was Jewish
- Memorial page at Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- The Palestinians' genocide campaign By Alan Dershowitz April 18, 2004