August 2010 West Bank shooting attack
August 2010 West Bank shooting attack | |
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Part of the | |
Coordinates | 31°32′32″N 35°07′51″E / 31.5421°N 35.1307°E |
Date | August 31, 2010 |
Attack type | Drive-by shooting |
Deaths | 4 civilians |
Perpetrator | Hamas |
The August 2010 West Bank shooting attack was an attack near the Israeli settlement of Kiryat Arba in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, carried out by Hamas militants. Four Israeli settlers from the settlements of Beit Hagai and Efrat were killed after militants attacked their vehicle.
Hamas hailed the attack as "heroic" and promised further attempts to kill "illegal settlers" in the West Bank.
The assailants were arrested by the Palestinian Authority but promptly released after Hamas accused the authority of treason. On 8 October, Israel arrested militants connected with the attack in a raid in which two Hamas operatives were killed.
The attack
A couple and two additional people hitching a ride were driving on
The police believe that militants in the Palestinian drive-by shooting opened fire from a vehicle driving alongside the victim's car.[5] A paramedic with Magen David Adom described the scene to a journalist, saying that he saw "a car that was pierced with dozens of bullets and inside there were four bodies. There was absolutely no chance of helping."[5]
Arrests
Hamas declared the arrest of the attackers by the
Victims
One of the murdered couples was from a settlement of
Kochava Even Chaim, a teacher in Efrat with an eight-year-old daughter, was killed. Her husband was among the paramedics who responded to the shooting and discovered that one of the victims was his wife.[2]
The fourth victim was Avishai Shindler, who had recently moved with his wife to live in
Thousands of people attended funerals as the victims were buried in Jerusalem, Ashdod, and Petah Tikva.[10][11]
Reactions
Hamas
Abu Ubaida, spokesman for the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, claimed "full responsibility" for the attack and described it as a "heroic operation."[5][12][13] In a separate statement, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said, "Hamas blesses the Hebron operation and considers it as a normal reaction to the occupation crime."[5][12]
In a later CNN interview a Hamas leader living in Damascus,
Celebration
In the city of Jabalia in northern Gaza, "hundreds" of Hamas supporters celebrated the killings in the street after the evening prayer, as an imam urged them on over the loudspeakers of the mosque in the hours before Hamas acknowledged responsibility for the killings. In Gaza city, more than 3,000 Palestinians celebrated the attack.[14]
Hamas legislator Mushir al-Masri spoke at the celebration, criticizing Mahmoud Abbas for entering negotiations on the grounds that Abbas is "representing only himself." According to Masri, killing the four Israelis "was the Palestinian people’s response to the talks."[15]
Part of a political strategy
According to an unnamed Israeli security official, this was the start of a
Other analysts[who?] believe that the "true target" of the spate of attacks is the Palestinian Authority.[3]
Abduction plan
According to Al-Ahram an Egyptian newspaper , Hamas had originally planned to abduct the bodies, hoping to secure a mass prisoner release for their return. The abductors had also reportedly hoped to sabotage the peace talks by provoking the IDF into launching a large-scale search for the victims in the Palestinian territories. These plans were foiled by the arrival of another car on the scene, causing the killers to flee.[18]
Israel
Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak referred to the attack as a "very grave incident" and said the Israeli military will "do everything they can to capture the murderers."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dispatched Yuval Diskin and Gabi Ashkenazi, and directed them to respond to the attack without "any diplomatic constraints against the murderers, and act aggressively against those who sent them."
Israeli Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom, who was acting prime minister at the time of the incident because Prime Minister Netanyahu was abroad, said, "There are those who continue to take the path of terror and are busy killing innocents," and "Today it is clearer more than ever that the real obstacle to peace is terrorism and the extremists who will do anything to send the entire region up in flames. It is incumbent on the Palestinian Authority to fulfill its obligations in the territories that are under its purview."[5]
Palestinian Authority
Prime Minister Salam Fayyad condemned the attack and said it was designed to "undermine the PLO's efforts to rally international support for the Palestinians's demands." He said that the attack was in contradiction with the national interests of the Palestinians and the PA's strategic vision.[19]
Palestinian security forces arrested up approximately 250 Hamas supporters in the West Bank, Hamas called the arrests an act of "treason."[20]
Settlers
Yesha Council, the largest of the Israeli settler organizations announced that it would stop obeying the Israeli government's construction freeze at 6 p.m. Wednesday, September 1, mere hours before peace talks are scheduled to begin in Washington, D.C., and that construction would go forward on "hundreds" of new homes in the settlements.[3] The Palestinian Authority countered by announcing that it would pull out of the peace talks if the building freeze ends.[3] A spokesman for the Israeli government said that the construction freeze would continue thorough September 26 as scheduled, and that Israel would proceed with the peace talks.[3] However, he also said that attacks of this kind make it difficult for Israel to make compromises to achieve a peace agreement.[3]
On September 1, 2010, in a direct response to the shooting, activist settlers and "hundreds" of members of Likud holding placards that read "They shoot, we build" began construction in settlements across the West Bank, including a structure at the entrance to Kiryat Arba, very near the site of the attack.[22]
International
Human Rights Watch responded by calling on Hamas to cease attacks on civilians.[23] Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United nations, said that "this attack must be recognized for what it is: a cynical and blatant attempt to undermine the direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations starting tomorrow."[24]
Military
Palestinian Authority and Israel forces started arresting Hamas supporters. Israeli forces killed Iyad Shilbaya, a commander of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, twelve others were arrested in the overnight operation between September 16 and 17. Hamas' military wing said it was responsible for the killing at the end of August of four Israeli settlers in the West Bank.[25]
Political ramifications
In a "fiery" speech shortly after the killings, Hamas leader
According to The Wall Street Journal, this and a second Hamas shooting in the West Bank two days later, "cast a shadow" over face to face peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority just as they were about to begin in Washington, D.C.[11] The Palestinian Authority responded to the shootings by arresting "dozens" of suspected Hamas activists in the West Bank.[11]
According to
An editorial in The Washington Post suggested that this incident would "cast a substantial shadow over the talks" citing two reasons. Like The New York Times Hamas's unusual assertion of responsibility was cited along with their further resolve to continue such attacks. A demonstration in Gaza in support of the attack was further cited as evidence that Hamas would not accept negotiations conducted by Mahmoud Abbas on their behalf. The editorial secondly echoed Israel's concern that under Palestinian rule the West Bank could become a base for attacks against Israel.[7]
Israeli response
On 8 October 2010 the IDF raided several buildings in Hebron where the militants suspected of carrying out the attack were holed up. Two of the suspects were killed upon storming the house and six others were arrested. The two dead were:
- Nashaath al-Karmi (33), a senior Hamas member from Tulkarm. Karm had previously been imprisoned for terror-related activities but was freed in August 2009, after which he quickly returned to working for Hamas' military wing.
- Mamoun al-Natshe (24), a low-level Hamas militant from Hebron. Natshe had been imprisoned in Israel for several months in 2008.[27][28]
Hamas swore revenge for the operation and congratulated the Palestinians of Hebron for "continuing to sacrifice
The Palestinian Authority officially condemned the operation, but PA sources said privately that the Palestinian security establishment welcomed the elimination of al-Karmi because it would weaken the power of rival Hamas in the West Bank.[29]
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak praised the security forces for the success of the operation: "The actions in Hebron are a rapid response to the murder of four Israelis in August of this year near Kiryat Arba. The IDF and security forces will continue to work everywhere with uncompromising determination against terror organizations to ensure continued peace in Judea and Samaria".[28]
See also
- 2010 Palestinian militancy campaign
- Tapuah junction stabbing
- 2015 Shuvat Rachel shooting
References
- ^ " 4 Israelis shot dead by terrorists in West Bank," Archived January 27, 2013, at the Wayback Machine Yaakov Katz and Yaakov Lappin, 31 August 2010, Jerusalem Pst.
- ^ a b c d "Four Israelis killed by Hamas terrorists in West Bank," Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Israel.
- ^ a b c d e f "Hamas Threats Suggest Palestinian Divisions," Charles Levinson, September 3, 2010, Wall Street Journal.
- ^ a b Mashaal: We'll continue 'to kill illegal settlers'
- ^ a b c d e f "4 Israelis shot dead, shattering years of relative calm in West Bank," Anshel Pfeffer, Chaim Levinson, Jonathan Lis, Avi Issacharoff and Amos Harel, September 1, 2010, Ha'aretz.
- ^ "Arrest of West Bank attackers 'treason': Hamas," Sep 7, 2010, AFP.
- ^ a b "The Shadow of Hamas," Staff Editorial, September 8, 2010, Washington Post.
- ^ "Victims on the road to 'peace' - The Boston Globe". Boston.com. September 5, 2010. Archived from the original on 7 September 2010. Retrieved October 1, 2010.
- ^ Ghert-Zand, Renee (2 November 2014). "Yehudah Glick 'was a marked person,' father says". Times of Israel. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
- ^ " 'There hasn't been a group like this since Rabbi Akiva,' Hundreds gather to mourn 4 victims of Kiryat Arba terror attack; funerals to be held in Jerusalem, Ashdod, Petah Tikva." September 1, 2010, Jerusalem Post.
- ^ a b c "Tensions Rise as Mideast Talks Begin; As Summit Opens in Washington, a Second Shooting and Protests by West Bank Settlers Raise the Threat to Peace," Charles Levinson, Jay Solomon, September 2, 2010, Wall Street Journal.
- ^ a b "Four Israelis killed in West Bank shooting, Hamas rejoices," Hazem Bader, Sept. 1, 2010, AFP.
- ^ Waked, Ali (June 20, 1995). "Hamas claims responsibility for shooting attack - Israel News, Ynetnews". Ynetnews. Ynetnews.com. Archived from the original on 9 October 2010. Retrieved October 1, 2010.
- ^ Palestinians crack down on Hamas after shooting
- ^ a b c d e "Killing of Israeli Settlers Rattles Leaders, Isabel Kershner, Mark Lander, August 31, 2010, New York Times.
- ^ "Shin Bet says Hamas to resume attacks," September 13, 2010, Ma’an.
- ^ "Gaza militants vow wave of attacks against Israel," September 2, 2010, reuters.
- ^ "'Hamas planned to abduct bodies of Israeli terror victims in West Bank", Jack Khoury, September 20, 2010, Haaretz.
- ^ PM: 'Terrorism will not determine Israel’s borders' Archived September 1, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b "Hamas leader rejects compromise, peace with Israel," AP September 1, 2010, Jerusalem Post.
- ^ "Settlers launch reprisal actions for shooting attack", The Jerusalem Post, 2010-09-02.
- ^ " Settlers begin construction in settlements all over W.Bank; Residents hold signs saying 'They shoot, we build.' staff, September 1, 2010, Jerusalem Post.
- ^ " West Bank/Israel: Hamas Must End Attacks on Civilians," September 2, 2010, Reuters.
- ^ Ban condemns West Bank shooting of four Israelis
- ^ Israeli forces kill West Bank Hamas commander September 17, 2010, BBC news
- ^ a b "Hamas Hits Israel in Threat to Talks," Charles Levinson, September 1, 2010, Wall Street Journal.
- ^ IDF kills two in Hebron involved in Beit Hagai killings, Jerusalem Post 08-10-2010
- ^ a b c Hamas swears revenge for IDF attack that killed two members, Jerusalem Post 08-10-2010
- ^ a b IDF kills 2 Hamas members in Hebron, Ynet News 08-10-2010