Women slain for honor

J'lem Arab turns himself in for murder
By ETGAR LEFKOVITS

A 29-year-old Jerusalem Arab was under arrest Wednesday for allegedly strangling two of his sisters to death and trying to kill a third in the name of family honor.

Maher Shakirat, of the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Jebl Mukaber, turned himself in to police Tuesday, after hiding out in the Palestinian-run West Bank for the last two months.

The two women, aged 20 and 27, were found strangled to death in their east Jerusalem home on May 2 shortly after the victims' father had reported the murders to police.

A third sister who survived a strangulation attempt was hospitalized, and has since recovered.

The attacker then fled the scene, and remained at large until giving himself up to police this week.

The suspect, who was remanded Wednesday by seven days at the Jerusalem Magistrate's court, has confessed to carrying out the attack, police said.

The parents and wife of the suspected murderer were arrested immediately after the attack, and have since been indicted on charges of assisting a murder.

In largely conservative Arab societies, where the male is clearly the domineering force, Arab women who commit adultery or other "unpardonable" acts often face violent retribution by their direct family members seeking to purify the blemish they feel has been wrought on their family.

In such cases, the male family members often take the law in their own hands, going so far as to kill their own relatives in an effort to cleanse their name.