Het lijkt erop dat Israel het kolonistengeweld zat begint te raken en daar harder actie tegen onderneemt.
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The Jerusalem Post
ep 27, 2008 23:32 | Updated Sep 28, 2008 11:06
ep 27, 2008 23:32 | Updated Sep 28, 2008 11:06
Palestinians: Settlers killed shepherd
By YAAKOV KATZ, AP AND JPOST.COM STAFF
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1222017410665&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Palestinians and Israeli police said Sunday that a 19-year-old shepherd was found dead in the West Bank.
Palestinians claimed that Yihya Atta Bani Minya, of the town of Aqrabeh in the Jordan Valley, was shot by settlers. Two Palestinian teenagers saw a white car belonging to settlers pursue the shepherd late Saturday and then heard shots, said Palestinian Authority local government official Ghassan Daglas.
Israeli Police spokesman Danny Poleg said the youth's body was found with gunshot wounds and taken to a forensics center for an autopsy. Police were investigating the incident.
Last week, following recent settler violence in the West Bank, the IDF Central Command canceled a number of scheduled visits to Joseph's Tomb in Nablus. The IDF said it would not permit any further visits until the settler leadership forcefully condemns the attacks, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
The decision was made by Samaria Brigade commander Col. Itzik Bar and was delivered to the settler leadership by Maj. Nehemia Hen, who is in charge of settlement security in the area.
Jews have been allowed access to Joseph's Tomb since the beginning of the year in monthly visits coordinated with the Samaria Brigade.
Each time, at least five buses were allowed access to the tomb, which is located on the outskirts of Nablus. It was the site of heavy fighting in the beginning of the second intifada in 2000, prompting the army to withdraw from the holy site, which was later ransacked by Palestinians.
But following the settler rampage through the Palestinian village of Asira el-Kibliyeh in response to the stabbing of nine-year-old Tuvia Shtatman in Yitzhar on September 13, the IDF decided to suspend visits to the tomb.
Eli Rosenfeld, a Samaria Regional Council employee who is in charge of coordinating visits to the tomb with the IDF, said he received a call from Hen on Wednesday informing him that visits were suspended until further notice.
"Hen said that the IDF wanted the settler leadership to condemn the incident two weeks ago in Asira el-Kibliyeh as well as the burning down of olive trees near Gilad Farm, even though there is no proof that settlers were involved," Rosenfeld told the Post.
"He said that there is nothing to talk about until further notice."
During the Jewish month of Elul and ahead of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, Rosenfeld said, Jews are particularly interested in visiting the tomb. On Thursday, Rosenfeld was hoping to be able to escort a rabbi from New York who flew here especially to visit the tomb.
"We have been fielding thousands of requests to visit the tomb," he said. "Now there is nothing we can do."
The IDF Spokesman's Office confirmed that the visits had been suspended but said this was because of "operational concerns" that would last until some time in October.
Rosenfeld rejected the claim, saying that Hen explicitly told him that the brigade commander's decision was a "punishment" for the settlers for not condemning the recent violence.
"There is no security reason why we can't go in to pray there," he said. "The IDF operates in Nablus almost every night and they can easily accompany us, like they have done for the past year."
Palestinians and Israeli police said Sunday that a 19-year-old shepherd was found dead in the West Bank.
Palestinians claimed that Yihya Atta Bani Minya, of the town of Aqrabeh in the Jordan Valley, was shot by settlers. Two Palestinian teenagers saw a white car belonging to settlers pursue the shepherd late Saturday and then heard shots, said Palestinian Authority local government official Ghassan Daglas.
Israeli Police spokesman Danny Poleg said the youth's body was found with gunshot wounds and taken to a forensics center for an autopsy. Police were investigating the incident.
Last week, following recent settler violence in the West Bank, the IDF Central Command canceled a number of scheduled visits to Joseph's Tomb in Nablus. The IDF said it would not permit any further visits until the settler leadership forcefully condemns the attacks, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
The decision was made by Samaria Brigade commander Col. Itzik Bar and was delivered to the settler leadership by Maj. Nehemia Hen, who is in charge of settlement security in the area.
Jews have been allowed access to Joseph's Tomb since the beginning of the year in monthly visits coordinated with the Samaria Brigade.
Each time, at least five buses were allowed access to the tomb, which is located on the outskirts of Nablus. It was the site of heavy fighting in the beginning of the second intifada in 2000, prompting the army to withdraw from the holy site, which was later ransacked by Palestinians.
But following the settler rampage through the Palestinian village of Asira el-Kibliyeh in response to the stabbing of nine-year-old Tuvia Shtatman in Yitzhar on September 13, the IDF decided to suspend visits to the tomb.
Eli Rosenfeld, a Samaria Regional Council employee who is in charge of coordinating visits to the tomb with the IDF, said he received a call from Hen on Wednesday informing him that visits were suspended until further notice.
"Hen said that the IDF wanted the settler leadership to condemn the incident two weeks ago in Asira el-Kibliyeh as well as the burning down of olive trees near Gilad Farm, even though there is no proof that settlers were involved," Rosenfeld told the Post.
"He said that there is nothing to talk about until further notice."
During the Jewish month of Elul and ahead of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, Rosenfeld said, Jews are particularly interested in visiting the tomb. On Thursday, Rosenfeld was hoping to be able to escort a rabbi from New York who flew here especially to visit the tomb.
"We have been fielding thousands of requests to visit the tomb," he said. "Now there is nothing we can do."
The IDF Spokesman's Office confirmed that the visits had been suspended but said this was because of "operational concerns" that would last until some time in October.
Rosenfeld rejected the claim, saying that Hen explicitly told him that the brigade commander's decision was a "punishment" for the settlers for not condemning the recent violence.
"There is no security reason why we can't go in to pray there," he said. "The IDF operates in Nablus almost every night and they can easily accompany us, like they have done for the past year."
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