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Fear Blood Feud in Western Galilee

April 16, 1981
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— Israeli officials and a joint committee of Moslem and Christian Arabs and Druze are trying to prevent a blood feud between two neighboring villages in western Galilee, arising out of a brawl at the football match which led to the death of one man on Saturday and two other retaliatory killings yesterday.

The brawl started when supporters of the Hapoel soccer teams ran riot after a match at Julis, during which a handgrenade was thrown, killing a Julis villager. Yesterday, Julis villagers, who are mainly Druze, drove into predominantly Christian Kfar Yasif village, shooting up the place, throwing handgrenodes and setting houses ablaze. A 33-year-old resident and a visiting 17-year-old student were killed in the rioting.

The dangers of a blood feud is especially dangerous in this case because of the differing religious backgrounds of the two villages, only a few miles apart.

Village notables have accused the police of not taking sufficient care to avoid a retaliatory raid after the football incident. But police spokesmen said several dozen policemen were on hand but the Julis villagers entered Kfar Yasif through back roads and were already running wild before the police realized what was happening.

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