SETTLER VIOLENCE CONTINUES

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 002217 SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE. NSC FOR ABRAMS/RAMCHAND/PASCUAL E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/09/2018 TAGS: KWBG PHUM ASEC IS PBTS PTER SUBJECT: SETTLER VIOLENCE CONTINUES REF: A. A. JERUSALEM 2197 ¶B. B. JERUSALEM 2198 Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. Settler violence targeting Palestinians continued December 5-8, especially near Hebron. Settlers set one Palestinian house on fire and stoned Palestinian cars. Two settlers who shot at Palestinians at point-blank range, an incident captured on video by NGO B'tselem, turned themselves in to Israeli police. End summary. VIOLENCE IN HEBRON AND ACROSS THE WEST BANK CONTINUES -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Hebron field representative Matteo Benatti told Poloff December 9 that settler violence in the Hebron area continued December 5-8, albeit at a lower level than in the immediate aftermath of the evacuation of the Rajabi compound. Benatti said Palestinians in the area are "very cautious" in their movement and fear settler attacks. He said ICRC attributed the lower level of violence to increased IDF presence. Benatti reported that none of the five homes burned by settlers on December 3-4 were completely destroyed. He confirmed that all Palestinians hospitalized by December 3-4 settler violence have since been released. ¶3. (C) Benatti said "sporadic incidents" have occurred in the West Bank since December 3-4. Press reported that settlers on December 5 uprooted about 80 olive trees in the village of Shofa, near Tulkarem, and tried to enter Ibrahimi mosque in Hebron, but were blocked by IDF soldiers. On December 6, settlers set fire to a Palestinian home, blocked the road, and threw stones at Palestinian cars between Nablus and Yitzhar settlement, causing two Palestinian injuries. Settlers also demonstrated against the IDF at the Hawara checkpoint. SETTLER DETAINED IN RESPONSE TO B'TSELEM VIDEO -------------- - ¶4. (C) B'tselem research director Yael Stein said December 9 that the December 3 B'tselem video showing a settler shooting Palestinian Hosni Abu Saither in the stomach at point-blank range had drawn international attention. Stein said the video has been aired by television networks worldwide and viewed by many thousands of people via the internet. The two settlers, Gaby Bibi and Zeev Braude, turned themselves in to Israeli police on December 6 "because their faces were widely recognized and they had no choice." Stein said the two claimed they had acted in self-defense. Bibi was released on these grounds, but Braude, who shot Abu Saither, has been remanded for another four days. WALLES