|
World Jewish News
Four settlers held for firing at Palestinian village in West Bank
03.05.2009
Police arrested four Jewish settlers including two Israel Defense Forces soldiers on home leave on Saturday for allegedly firing indiscriminately at the West Bank village of Khirbet Safa, near the settlement of Bat Ayin.
Settlers had assembled on a hill overlooking the village on the 30-day anniversary of the murder of Bat Ayin teenager Shlomo Nativ, who was killed by a resident of Khirbet Safa. They began shooting at the village when an IDF patrol ordered them to leave. The IDF Spokesman's Office said the settlers opened fire "without any reason." The spokesman called the settlers' actions "an unnecessary and dangerous provocation."
Around half the settlers on the hilltop headed toward the village. Settlers and local Palestinians began throwing stones at each other until army units arrived. The IDF removed the settlers from the village and fired tear gas and rubber-coated bullets at the Palestinians. The confrontation between the Palestinians and IDF lasted hours.
IDF sources said two Palestinians were wounded, but it was not clear if they were hurt when the settlers opened fire or during the clashes with the IDF.
Settlers and people from Khirbet Safa have been involved in a series of violent incidents over the past few years. Three years ago Bat Ayin resident Erez Levanon was stabbed to death by a resident of Khirbet Safa. Earlier this year a 14-year-old Palestinian boy from Khirbet Safa was badly beaten by Bat Ayin settlers.
Three weeks ago the Shin Bet security service arrested Musa Tiet, a resident of Khirbet Safa, for Nativ's murder last month. Tiet admitted killing the 13-year-old and wounding a 7-year-old boy. He said he had acted alone with the aim of becoming a martyr.
Police are concerned that members of the settlement, the home to a number of right-wing extremists, might seek to avenge Nativ's death. Five years ago the Shin Bet arrested a number of Bat Ayin residents who were members of a Jewish underground cell that had planned to bomb Arab schools in East Jerusalem.
By Nadav Shragai and Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondents
Источник: Haaretz
|
|
