ARMED PALESTINIAN BOY SHOT DEAD WHILE APPROACHING

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 001783

SIPDIS

NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE. NSC FOR ABRAMS/RAMCHAND/PASCUAL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/22/2018
TAGS: PBTS PREL PHUM PTER KWBG KPAL IS
SUBJECT: ARMED PALESTINIAN BOY SHOT DEAD WHILE APPROACHING
SETTLEMENT

REF: JERUSALEM 1739

Classified By: Acting Principal Officer Greg Marchese for reasons 1.4 (
b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Early September 20, IDF troops shot and
killed a 14-year-old boy as he approached Yitzhar settlement
with a Molotov cocktail and a knife. IDF video released to
the press shows the boy attempting to light a bomb and the
IDF firing on him. Asira al-Qabaliyah's village council told
Poloffs the IDF "kidnapped and shot the boy in cold blood."
Settlers praised the IDF's action to protect them. END
SUMMARY.

14-year-old shot dead
--------------


2. (C) One week after clashes between Yitzhar settlers and
villagers from neighboring Asira al-Qabaliyah (reftel),the
IDF killed 14-year-old Suheib Yasser Ahmed Saleh from Asira
al-Qabaliyah as he tried to enter Yitzhar settlement early
September 20. The press reported that Saleh had a Molotov
cocktail and a knife and showed IDF-released video of him
approaching Yitzhar and his death from IDF fire. (Note: The
Israeli National Police announced that forensic evidence had
established that Saleh was the attacker in the September 13
incident. End note.)

Villagers: "Boy shot in cold blood"
--------------


3. (C) Village council member Bassam Abdel-Latif told
Poloff that Saleh was "running around in the area" between
the village and the settlement on September 20, but that "no
Palestinian would even think of trying" to infiltrate into
Yitzhar. "The IDF kidnapped him and shot him twice in the
legs and once in the chest in cold blood," Abdel-Latif said.
Villagers living closest to Yitzhar told Poloffs that the IDF
has maintained a constant presence between the village and
the settlement since clashes the previous week.


4. (C) Abdel-Latif told Poloffs that Israeli security
forces are making up for their inability to capture a suspect
in the reported torching of a settler caravan and attack on a
Yitzhar boy on September 13. The council denies this
incident occurred as claimed by the settlers of Yitzhar
(reftel). Mayor Hosni Sharif told Poloff September 19 that
"they did it themselves; they made it up".

Villagers accustomed to dealing with violence
--------------


5. (C) Poloffs visited Asira al-Qabaliyah one day prior to
Suheib Saleh's killing, and Sharif complained of Yitzhar's
illegal and ever-increasing presence since 1980. Village
council member Ibrahim Saleh said that, over the years,
settlers have attacked villagers, burnt their fields, stolen
and killed their animals, and poisoned their wells. Poloffs
visited two homes attacked September 13 and observed broken
windows, bullet-ridden water tanks, and star of David symbols
painted on their sides. Saleh said that, to counter settler
violence, villagers regularly dispatch men and boys to
"defend" the village "with rocks and shouting," after which
they call the District Coordination Office to request the
assistance of the Israeli Border Police. Council member
Saleh said response times vary from thirty to ninety minutes.
He said the IDF always arrives on the scene first but acts
"to protect the settlers, not us". (Note: In responding to
West Bank security incidents, the IDF does not have a law
enforcement function. End Note.)

Settlers: "A great blessing"
--------------


6. (C) Samaria Regional Council chairman Gershon Mesika
told Poloff that Saleh's killing was "a great blessing," and
Yitzhar spokesman Yigal Amitai told Poloff that settlement
residents welcomed the IDF action. According to press,
Mesika's council issued a statement September 20 praising the
IDF but also criticizing it for not taking sufficient action
in the past to protect settlers in the area. The statement
called Central Command Commander Gadi Shamni "lazy," said the
settler reprisals one week earlier were justified, and called
for "evacuation compensation" legislation to induce
Palestinians from the West Bank.

MARCHESE