News Flash
JERUSALEM, June 15, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Ayman Odeh, an Israeli member of
parliament of Palestinian descent, accused the government on Sunday of
failing to provide Arab-Israeli communities with enough shelters after an
Iranian missile killed four people in the city of Tamra.
"The state, unfortunately, still distinguishes between blood and blood," Odeh
lamented on X, after touring the city of 37,000 predominantly Arab residents.
A house there was destroyed by a missile launched by Iran overnight in
response to Israel's unprecedented attacks on the Islamic republic's military
and nuclear sites.
"Four civilians were killed yesterday: Manar al-Qassem Abu al-Hija Khatib
(39), her two daughters Hala (13) and Shada (20), and their relative Manar
Diab Khatib (41)," Odeh said, adding that "dozens more" were wounded.
Cars and buildings were also damaged by the strike on the community in the
Israeli region of Galilee, an AFP journalist at the scene reported.
"Tamra is not a village. It is a city without public shelters," Odeh said,
adding that this was the case for 60 percent of "local authorities" -- the
Israeli term for communities not officially registered as cities, many of
which are Arab-Israeli.
Arab-Israelis are Palestinians who remained in what is now Israel after its
creation in 1948, and represent about 20 percent of the country's population.
The community frequently professes to face discrimination from Israel's
Jewish majority.
With Israel and Iran engaged in their most intense confrontation ever, Odeh,
a communist MP for over 10 years, warned of "a threat of unprecedented
destruction (that) will not distinguish" between Arabs and Jews.
He also accused the government of "neglect" towards citizens of Palestinian
descent.
A video shared on social media Sunday night caused outrage after showing
families apparently rejoicing in Hebrew as missiles fell on Tamra.
In some Arab neighbourhoods, missiles launched towards Israel have also been
welcomed with joy, AFP journalists reported.
