The vicious beating of two IDF soldiers in Haifa is reminiscent of the 2000 lynching of two soldiers in Ramallah, Judge Zayid Falah said Sunday, as he extended the remands of six suspects in the case.

“Those soldiers lost their lives. Luckily, security guards from Rambam hospital reached the scene. The outcome if they had not is unthinkable,” Falah said.

He called for a harsh punishment if the suspects are found guilty. “The events described above befit the dark regimes of backwards countries, not a democratic state like Israel… If [the suspects] are found guilty, the court must give them heavy punishments, expressed in lengthy jail terms, to make it clear that acts like these cannot be allowed -- not in Israel or anywhere else on earth,” he wrote.

Falah extended the suspects’ remands by five days. He noted that he would have sent them back to detention for longer, but was limited by the fact that some of the suspects are minors.

Meanwhile, MK Michael Ben-Ari (Ichud Leumi) spend Sunday morning in Haifa, visiting the two soldiers who were wounded in the assault.

“I found people who were wounded and in shock,” he said. “I could barely get them to smile.” The soldiers had been sure the Arab mob planned to kill them, he stated. “One of them said he thought it was his last moment on earth.”

Ben-Ari slammed police for stating that the attack was not motivated by nationalism. “The police is trying to put this event down to a brawl, or thuggery. This was a hate crime,” he declared. (IsraelNationalNews © 2012 02/26/12)