Murder in the West Bank

Last Friday, somebody brutally murdered 5 Israelis in the West Bank settlement of Itamar, near Nablus. Apparently the murderer entered the fenced and guarded compound in the middle of the night, and murdered 5 settlers, including the father and mother and 3 children in their beds.

Five victims - two adults and 3 children

An atrocious act which no circumstance could ever justify.

But who did it? And why?

Immediately suspicion fell on Palestinians. They certainly would have motive. Israeli settlers are illegally occupying Palestinian land, cutting down Palestinian trees, killing Palestinian animals, throwing stones at Palestinian kids. They are protected by the Israeli army. Some Palestinians can't take it any more. That is the objective: to discourage the Palestinians. The settlers believe that God gave them the land of Israel, and they have the God-given right to try to chase the Palestinians away.

(For a concrete example of this daily harassment, see a letter from The Christian Peacekeepers Team in Hebron, which I have reprinted below. Their letters, every week, detail the vicious war that the Israeli "settlers" are waging against the Palestinians in the area.)

But did Palestinians commit the murder? And if so who? A frustrated shepherd? A terrorist cell?

The Israeli Press and the Israeli Government were quick to implicate Palestinian "terrorists". Some attributed the murder to "The Al-Aqsa Brigade" even though they disclaimed any responsibility. (It's hard to image that any political organization would expect to gain sympathy by killing babies). Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas condemned the killing and Hamas also dissociated it self from it.

The Israeli government quickly announced that it would build 500 more settlements in the West Bank in reprisal for the murder. (The announcement was so quick it seems likely they were already planning to do so but that the murder provided a convenient justification that would be hard for the international community to criticise.)

Israel Approves New Construction in Wake of Massacre

In response to this bloody incident the Israeli cabinet approved the construction of several hundred new homes in several different localities in the disputed West Bank, including in Gush Etzion, Maale Adumim, Ariel and Kiryat Sefer. The Associated Press reported that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office sent a text message to journalists stating that all the new construction has been approved in areas which are considered to be major settlement blocs that Israel intends to keep after a final peace settlement has been reached.

Mideast Newswire 

But do we know who did it? The police investigation is still under way

Now it appears that there is another possible explanation. Apparently the murdered family had one (or more) immigrant Thai workers in their employ. Israel has increasingly resorted to using immigrant workers to do menial and agricultural jobs. One of these workers seems to have had some issues with the family, including the fact that he was owed a significant amount of back wages. According to the Jerusalem Post, he has also been arrested, although police have now put a "gag" order on the press.

I do not know how this will turn out. However, the political temptation to blame the murders on "Palestinian terrorists" seems all too powerful. It has begun to circulate as a 'fact" in the Western Jewish diaspora. And I do not have confidence that the Israeli police investigation will be able to resist the political pressures to put further blame on Palestinian "terrorists".

Here is the most recent post from the Christian Peacemakers Team in Hebron. It gives you an idea of the kind of constant tension that the Palestinians are living under in the West Bank. The CPT is a Christian group dedicated to peace and justice in the Middle East.
You can get on their mailing list by writing to: cpthebron@yahoogroups.com

CPT RELEASE

Settlers from Harsina Attack Palestinian Home

Paulette Schroeder

16 March 2011

On Monday March 14, fifteen (Israeli) settlers from Harsina Settlement attacked the (Palestinian) Jabber home in Baqa’a Valley.  The Jabber home sits at the bottom of the mountain housing the Harsina Settlement. The Jabber family consists of several families including 17 persons with 12 children.  At 2:30 pm fifteen settlers from Harsina Settlement  began throwing stones at the Jabber home  but were stopped by the Israeli Military.  They returned at 6:30pm and stoned the house for one hour with no interference from the Army.

One of the Jabber brothers who lives across the road from Harsina Settlement  said he was so afraid for his family that he wondered whether he should move his family to one of his cousins’ homes.  He said he does not sleep until 1:30 am or 2:30 am each night.