France, Israel mourn Paris terror victims as Hebdo puts prophet on front page
France and Israel paid tribute on Tuesday to those killed in the Paris terrorist attacks as authorities in Bulgaria said a Frenchman already under arrest had ties to the Paris gunmen who left 17 victims in their wake.
With a printing press, medals of honour and ceremonies thousands of miles apart, France and Israel paid tribute on Tuesday to those killed in the Paris terrorist attacks. In Bulgaria, authorities said a Frenchman already under arrest had ties to the Paris gunmen who left 17 victims in their wake.
Defying the bloodshed and terror of last week, a caricature of the Prophet Mohammed is to appear on Wednesday on the cover of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, weeping and holding a placard with the words “I am Charlie.” Above him is emblazoned: “All is forgiven” – a phrase one writer said meant to show that the survivors of the attacks forgave the gunmen.
Watch: 'All is forgiven': Charlie Hebdo cartoonist explains cover
“I think that those who have been killed, if they were here, they would have been able to have a coffee today with the terrorists and just talk to them, ask them why they have done this,” columnist Zineb El Rhazoui told the BBC. “We feel, as Charlie Hebdo’s team, that we need to forgive the two terrorists who have killed our colleagues.”
Two masked gunmen opened the onslaught in Paris with a January 7 attack on the paper, singling out its editor and his police bodyguard for the first shots before killing 12 people in all. Ahmed Merabet, a French Muslim policeman, was one of the victims, killed as he lay wounded on the ground as the gunmen – brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi – made their escape.