CARMIEL, Israel, March 1 (UPI) -- Two men were arrested in Israel for allegedly planning to kill the country's first beauty pageant contestant who belonged to the Druze religion.
Police in Carmiel, Israel, said the two men, Jalal Hammoud and Zayed Hammoud, planned to kill Angelina Fares because they believed her participation in the Miss Israel beauty pageant "would defile the honor of the Druze community," YNetNews reported Thursday.
Jalal Hammoud stands accused of stealing a weapon from an Israeli soldier and giving it to Zayed, his cousin, to commit the crime. Police said they are carrying out an investigation into who may have hired the cousins to commit the crime.
Zayed Hammoud's attorney said his client denies the charges against him and claims his client has no motive to want to kill Fares.
Fares' participation in the pageant, scheduled for April 13, has created mixed feelings among Israeli Druze.
"With all due respect to progress, there is a limit. It is unacceptable for a young girl to take part in a beauty pageant and appear in a bathing suit. This is against our tradition and religion," said Sheik Muwaffak Tarif, the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel.
