PALESTINIAN SHEPHERD KILLED NEAR SETTLEMENT;

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 001842

SIPDIS

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

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/02/2018
TAGS: KWBG PBTS PREL PHUM IS
SUBJECT: PALESTINIAN SHEPHERD KILLED NEAR SETTLEMENT;
VILLAGERS REJECT AUTOPSY RESULTS

Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY. On September 27, the body of an 18-year-old
Palestinian shepherd was found near Gittit settlement in the
Jordan Valley. According to an Israeli Police statement, an
autopsy determined the shepherd was killed while "playing
with" a 40mm grenade round. Villagers told Poloff they
reject the autopsy conclusions, and claim the shepherd was
killed by settlers from nearby Itamar. END SUMMARY.

Shepherd found dead
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2. (C) On the evening of September 27, the body of
18-year-old shepherd Suhaib Beni Miniyeh of Aqrabeh village
(population 8,500; southeast of Nablus) was found a few
hundred meters east of the northern Jordan Valley settlement
of Gittit. On September 29, the ISRAEL National Police
announced that an autopsy determined Beni Miniyeh was killed
while "playing with" a 40mm grenade round usually fired from
an M-203 type M-16 rifle, resulting in a severed cartid
artery and numerous shrapnel wounds. The body was returned
to Aqrabeh September 29, on the eve of Eid al-Fitr, where
villagers held a funeral and demonstrations.

Villagers recount events of September 27
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3. (C) On October 2, Poloff discussed the incident with the
victim's family and members of the village council in
Aqrabeh. According to the victim's uncle, Fauzi Beni
Miniyeh, five shepherds were herding sheep south of the
village around 1:00 p.m. when Beni Miniyeh wandered some 500m
out of their sight. Soon after, the shepherds saw a white
car with Israeli license plates pass them on a road often
used by settlers from Itamar (southeast of Nablus). Beni
Miniyeh said that the shepherds heard screaming and observed
the same white car speed back past them. At 5:00 p.m., Beni
Miniyeh said villagers began to worry when the shepherd's
flock returned home without him. Initiating a search, they
found his body - riddled with twenty holes - around midnight
near the entrance to the Jordan Valley settlement of Gittit.
The villagers said they informed Gittit's security guard, who
called Israeli authorities.

Villagers reject autopsy report;
Settler violence an ongoing problem
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4. (C) The family said they agreed on an autopsy to be
performed in Israel, but were denied permits to attend the
procedure for security reasons. The family has not
officially received the results of the autopsy, but rejected
the conclusions as they understood them from press reports.
They claimed that, on September 27, an IDF doctor at the
scene stated that Beni Miniyeh "was killed by an M-16" in a
"malicious way." Villagers also said that a similar incident
occurred in 2002, when Itamar settlers shot and injured an
Aqrabeh villager; the Israeli Police investigation also
concluded that stray IDF ordinance had caused the injuries
despite eyewitness accounts to the contrary. Aqrabeh village
council member Ayssa Dayrieh told Poloff, "this is a
permanent problem for us," noting that four villagers have
previously been killed "by settlers," while several villagers
recounted stories of shootings, stolen animals and torched
fields.

Settlers claim vindication
--------------


5. (C) Settlers across the northern West Bank breathed a sigh
of relief as autopsy results were announced. Settler
pioneer Benny Katsover of Elon Moreh (10 km north of
Aqrabeh),head of the "Samaria Action Committee" suspected of
encouraging and instigating violent activity by settlers,
told Poloff, "the left-wing media was quick to blame the
settlers," and said the autopsy result speaks for itself.

WALLES