Victim's son: I have no faith in police
Samer Alkam, whose father Kheiri was murdered 12 years ago, is angered by decision to release main suspect Haim Pearlman to house arrest. Meanwhile, suspect's friend who was also arrested, released in affair maintains Pearlman is innocent
After the court ordered the release of Haim Pearlman, suspected of murdering four Arabs, to house arrest on Wednesday, Samer Alkam, whose father Kheiri was allegedly killed by the "Jewish terrorist", told Ynet he no longer has any faith in the police.
"I am leaving the matter in God's hands," he said.
Alkam's father was murdered 12 years ago, and he still has difficulty accepting the fact that his murderer has yet to be caught, despite the many years that have passed since the incident.
"Today the month of Ramadan begins, and I fast. It's hard enough already, I am angry and disappointed. Now this is taking me back. Now I must once again wait for the police. There's nothing I can do."
A month ago, when Pearlman was arrested, Alkam said, "I look at my children, who do not know their grandfather. My father is dead. He is gone, and no one can bring him back, so I don't feel better now that the murderer has been caught. He said his younger sister was only one year old when her father was murdered.
On Wednesday Alkam said, "If the police say it was him, then it was him. This is not child's play. Whoever killed my father should be behind bars. This is a small country, and whoever breaks the law should be punished. A man went and killed my father for no reason, just because, and we don't know who it was."
Kheiri Alkam, a resident of the at-Tur neighborhood in Jerusalem who worked in construction for a living, was the first victim in a line of murders ascribed to Pearlman.
In the early morning hours of May 13, 1998 on the city's Shivtei Israel Street, an unknown man wielding a large knife stormed at him. The man stabbed Alkam several times and then fled the scene. Kheiri Alkam was 51-years-old at the time of his death.
Pearlman's friend: Shin Bet trying to settle a score
Meanwhile, Pearlman's friends expressed relief after hearing about the decision. Shimon Chen, who was arrested and immediately released in the affair, told Ynet, "This whole thing is very strange, I still don't understand what's happening here. If there's no evidence, and both the Shin Bet and the court admit this, then why was he detained for a month?"
According to Chen, he has known Pearlman since the 1990s, when the four murders ascribed to Pearlman occurred. The two studied together at the Rabbi Meir Kahane's HaRaayon HaYehudi Yeshiva. He said none of his friends doubted Pearlman's innocence.
"We all knew him and it was very clear to us that he simply is not capable of such a thing. He is not the kind of person who can murder four people and stab another seven, and with a knife. He was a 17-year-old boy, does anyone really think such a young and naïve person could take on the police and Shin Bet and not get caught? I think the Shin Bet also understands that this would have to be someone professional, not a boy."
In light of this, Chen has just one theory on the Shin Bet's conduct. "They want to settle a score with him, because he worked there, and didn't do what they asked," he said.
Chen said he spoke with Pearlman's wife after his arrest. "She asked us to pray for him, and to encourage him. Friends came and supported him, we organized rides; I lent my car for this purpose."
Of his own interrogation, Chen said, "I cooperated, I explained to them that they had the wrong guy and that it wasn't Haim, despite their claims that he confessed to the deeds. But their conduct towards him – beatings and humiliation – may be acceptable in the black market, but not in a democratic state. We don't want to think what would have happened had they succeeded getting him to confess by force. We hope this is the end, God wiling. We are thinking positive and hoping for the best."
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