Eden Natan-Zada - Victim Compensation

Victim Compensation

After the event, the Israeli Defense Ministry ruled that the four Arab citizens shot dead were not victims of terror because their killer was not part of a terrorist organization, and are thus not entitled to the usual compensation for life lost due to terror attacks. According to Mayan Malkin, a spokeswoman with the Israeli Defense Ministry, an attacker must be a member of the "enemy forces" against Israel to be considered a terrorist under the law. Instead, they received payment "beyond the letter of the law," as a lump-sum payment, as opposed to the lifelong monthly annuity given to the families of terror victims. Representatives of the Arab community in Israel condemned the decision, with Mohammed Barakeh, an Arab member of the Israeli parliament, saying that the "…decision raises a strong scent of racism, which distinguishes between a Jewish terrorist and an Arab terrorist." On 19 July 2006, the Israeli government changed the "Compensation Law for Victims of Hostile Acts" to include anyone victimized by violence stemming from the Israeli-Arab conflict. As a result of this change, the victims and families of Natan-Zada became eligible for terror compensation.