Norway: Threats from Israel

Norway: Threats from Israel

This is a very strange story..

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"Warning.  Any Palestinians who demonstrate against the state of Israel will be subject ot injury," says the text which was translated from Arabic.

5-6 people, most Syrian-Palestinian, received this message after the demonstration at Sam Eyde's square in Arendal, Norway, Saturday.  Now some of them are scared.

"My mobile can't get Arab letters, so I just saw that it was a number from abroad. I rang up the number, and it answered on the other end.  I asked who are you?  and I got an answer: "I will cut your head off and kick your ass", says Sari A. Halim.  He got scared of how cool the voice was.

"He was very cool and calm and laughed when he said it," says Halim.

Amir Alameer Ouf has five cellphone numbers registered under his name.  Yet the message came only to the cellphone he goes with.  and Halim's telephone number is unregistered.  

"I called the number and spoke with the person concerned in English.  he said he could carry out the threats because he was in Israel.  He also said that he had people who could do it in Norway," says Amir Alameer Ouf.

This scares the Palestinian community, but apparently not enough that they would let themselves be silenced.

"In Norway freedom of speech is holy, and we won't let ourselves be terrorized to silence," says one of those who got the message but wishes to remain anonymous.

Most of those who got the threat are taking it very seriously.

"We we ring against and come to a human and not an answering machine, we'll be anxious," Ouf says.

"We know of course that Israel has had operations in the country before, so right now we fear that it can happen again," says Halim.

He and rest are considering lodging a complaint, but are uncertain if there's a point.

"If they don't listen to the UN, why should they then listen to the Arendal police station," says Ouf.  

They contacted the police about it and were told to contact them again should anything else happen.

Sari Halim says there could be self-defense if they are attacked.  He and the rest of those who got the threat also have an idea of hwo this could happen.

"The information about us probably comes from our own ciricle, and we have a suspicion of whom," says Halim.

Josef Hæier of the labor party also got the threat, and thought at first it was a joke.

The peaceful demonstrators are not thinking meanwhile of stopping.

"We will demonstrate again on Saturday, but we will solve this with words and wisdom, not with violence," says Sari Halim.

Jens Martin Reiersølmoen of the Arendal police station says they have not recieved notice of this type.  "If the case will be reported, we will see what and how much we can do," says Reiersølmoen.

Sources: Agder Posten, VG (Norwegian)

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