George Elias Khoury (1983 - March 19, 2004, ar, جورج إلياس خوري , he, ג'ורג' אליאס ח'ורי) was an

Israeli Arab The Arab citizens of Israel are the largest ethnic minority in the country. They comprise a hybrid community of Israeli citizens with a heritage of Palestinian citizenship, mixed religions (Muslim, Christian or Druze), bilingual in Arabic an ...

Christian murdered by a Palestinian terrorist while jogging in the neighborhood of

French Hill French Hill ( he, הגבעה הצרפתית, ''HaGiv'a HaTzarfatit'', ar, التلة الفرنسية, ''at-tel al-faransiya''), also Giv'at Shapira ( he, גִּבְעַת שַׁפִּירָא) is an Israeli settlement in northern East Jerusa ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. Khoury, son of

Elias Khoury Elias Khoury ( ar, إلياس خوري; born 12 July 1948) is a Lebanon, Lebanese novelist, and prominent public intellectual. Accordingly, he has published myriad novels related to literary criticism, which have been translated into several fore ...

, a prominent lawyer, was a law student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The

Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades () is a coalition of Palestinian armed groups in the West Bank. The organization has been designated as a terrorist organization by Israel, the European Union, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and the United St ...

, the military branch of the Fatah movement, claimed responsibility for the attack. According to the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', the "Palestinian gunman mistook him for a Jew.""Jogger Slain in Palestinian 'Mistake' Was a Student Who Straddled the Mideast Divide,"
Greg Myre, March 21, 2004, New York Times. Khoury's father said, "I am against all violent attacks against innocent civilians whether it be against Israeli civilians or Palestinian civilians." Fatah apologized and offered to declare him a

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

for the

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

cause. Ibrahim Kandalaft, Arafat's adviser on Christian affairs, eulogized Khoury on behalf of the PA chairman, describing him as a shaheed (martyr) of the Palestinian cause. But the victim's mother interrupted him by declaring that her son was an "angel, not a shaheed." George's grandfather, Daoud Khoury, was also assassinated in an attack in Jerusalem, when a booby-trapped refrigerator exploded at Zion Square. Khoury was buried in the Christian cemetery on Mount Zion.

References

External links

Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center: Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades Murder Israeli Arab Student in Jerusalem

Maariv International: Al Aqsa Brigades kill Israeli Arab they thought was Jewish

The Palestinians' genocide campaign By Alan Dershowitz April 18, 2004
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khoury, George 1983 births 2004 deaths Eastern Orthodox Christians from Palestine Israeli Arab Christians Israeli casualties in the Second Intifada Israeli murder victims Palestinian Christians People from Jerusalem People murdered in Israel Terrorism deaths in Jerusalem Terrorist incidents in Jerusalem in the 2000s Terrorist incidents in Asia in 2004