ISRAELI BORDER GUARD KILLS PALESTINIAN AT IBRAHIMI

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 000752

SIPDIS

NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND IPA. NSC FOR SHAPIRO/KUMAR. JOINT
STAFF FOR LTGEN SELVA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/07/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR PTER PHUM ASEC IS KWBG KPAL
SUBJECT: ISRAELI BORDER GUARD KILLS PALESTINIAN AT IBRAHIMI
MOSQUE IN HEBRON

REF: 08 JERUSALEM 1605

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


1. (C) Summary. An Israeli border policeman shot and
killed a mentally disabled Palestinian at the entrance of
Ibrahimi mosque in Hebron late May 6. According to the
International Committee for the Red Cross, the Palestinian
was unarmed and had passed the security checkpoint.
Palestinian security sources disputed Israeli press reports
that the Palestinian attempted to take a policeman's weapon,
claiming he did not pose a security threat. PA Prime
Minister Salam Fayyad complained about this incident in a
conversation with the Consul General on May 6. End summary.

ICRC Calls Shooting a "Terrible Mistake"
--------------


2. (C) Head of the International Committee for the Red
Cross (ICRC) Hebron office Matteo Benatti told POLOFF on May
7 that an Israeli border policeman shot approximately 20 year
old Palestinian Hamam Naser al-Adin at the entrance of
Ibrahimi Mosque in the H2 area of Hebron on the evening of
May 6. Calling the incident a "terrible mistake," Benatti
said that the Palestinian, who was mentally disabled, was
unarmed and had passed through the metal security gate and
metal detectors outside the entrance of the building when he
was shot. Al-Adin's parents, Benatti said, approached ICRC
early May 7 to request assistance in retrieving their son's
body from an autopsy center near Tel Aviv, in order to bury
him in accordance with Muslim tradition. Benatti said the
Israeli District Coordination Liaison (DCL) told him on May 7
that Israeli security forces are investigating the incident,
would not say if it is being treated as a terrorist attack,
and could not guarantee that the body would be returned to
the family that day.

Conflicting Reports on Incident
--------------


3. (C) Palestinian security sources told PolSpec on May 7
that al-Adin was carrying a Koran in a bag, which the Israeli
border police described as a "suspicious object." Israeli
press reports on May 7 claimed al-Adin attempted to take the
weapon of a border policeman, a story that Palestinian
security sources dispute based on eyewitness accounts, saying
al-Adin was shot when he argued with a border policeman at
the entrance of the mosque, and did not pose a security
threat. The sources confirmed that al-Adin was mentally
disabled, receiving treatment a mental hospital in Bethlehem,
and said he attended daily evening prayers at Ibrahimi mosque.

Fayyad Expresses Concern
--------------


4. (C) PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad called the Consul
General late on May 6 to complain about the incident. He
said that information available to the Palestinian Authority
Security Forces (PASF) indicated that al-Adin posed no threat
to the Israeli soldiers. He expressed concern that this
incident could trigger unrest in Hebron and the southern West
Bank, which is already tense after recent violence between
Palestinians and settlers/IDF soldiers. He said the tragic
incident in Hebron reflects loose IDF rules of engagement and
an attitude of "shoot first and ask questions later." He
said he has discussed this general problem with senior IDF
and MOD officials on many occasions without any apparent
impact. He urged the USG to raise the issue in its dialogue
with the GOI.

WALLES