Murder of Rina Shnerb

On 23 August 2019, 17-year-old Israeli Rina Shnerb was killed by a roadside bomb.[1] while hiking with her father, Rabbi Eitan Shnerb, and brother Dvir near Dolev, an Israeli settlement in the West Bank; her father and brother were wounded.[2][3] Shnerb's funeral was held in Lod on 23 August.[4]

Murder of Rina Shnerb
Part of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict
LocationDolev, West Bank
Date23 August 2019
Attack type
IED
Deaths1
VictimRina Shnerb

Background

The murder took place near the spring of Ein Bubin, close to the Palestinian village of Deir Ibzi [1], whose lower lands near the spring area are abandoned because they are denied access save for two or three days a year.[5] Israeli settlements are considered illegal under international law, something Israel disputes, and over 600,000 Jews have come to live in roughly 140 of such settlements since Israel occupied the area militarily in 1967.[1] Springs in particular are flashpoints in the conflict between Israelis who come to settle in the West Bank and the local Palestinian villagers,[lower-alpha 1] with, according to Dror Ektes, over 60 springs so far seized in the past 10 years, and thereupon reserved for Jewish use only.[lower-alpha 2]

According to Amira Hass, the site is one of nine in an area where, over three decades, the settlements of Dolev and Nahliel, and illegal Israeli outposts between them, have seized control over some 3,700 acres of Palestinian land. Palestinians in six adjacent villages, Kobar, Ras Karkar, Al-Janiya, Deir 'Ammar, Al-Mazra'a al-Qibliya and Beitillu – all cut off from each other through prohibitions on road use - have been denied access to their groves, springs and grazing land by a variety of settler and army measures - vandalism of trees, military orders, and assaults. Five of the villages' nine springs have, she claims, been appropriated from Palestinians,[7] who formerly used them for swimming, picnicking and for agricultural purposes. The seizures adapt them as recreational sites exclusively for settlers and touring Israeli Jews. The loss of land and water resources has, she continues, dealt an economic blow to inhabitants of the six villages, causing many families to rely now on aid. With regard to the incident specifically Hass concluded that, ‘those who prepared the bomb certainly know that this is Israel’s strategy in the West Bank. Individual settlements are turned into broad blocs, for Jews only, and are boasting of abundance, serenity, commercial centers, vineyards, orchards, hiking trails and Judaized natural springs.'[7]

On the day in question, three members of the Shnerb family, from Lod in Israel, were hiking in the West Bank.[8]

Arrest of suspects and trial

In the aftermath, Israeli forces arrested three PFLP members allegedly responsible,[9] one of whom was hospitalized with his life in danger after interrogation using "exceptional means" by Shin Bet.[3]

On 5 March 2020, the Israeli Defense Force destroyed the homes of two suspected perpetrators in the Ramallah area.[10]

Aftermath

Bezalel Smotrich of Yamina called for the annexation of the West Bank in response to Shnerb's killing.[11] Hamas praised the attack,[12] and Islamic Jihad called it a "natural response,"[12] while the Palestinian Authority said it was likely the work of a "highly organized cell" that posed a threat to the PA as well as Israelis.[13]

Eight months after Rina's murder, on Tuesday, April 21, which was Yom HaShoah, her mother gave birth to a girl. Her parents considered naming the baby Rina, but decided t hat "Rina is still with us in spirit, and gave the new baby a different name.[14]

Palestinian villagers have so far resisted efforts to take over the Ein Bubin spring and can still access it.[7](2)The father, an IDF reserve military chaplain,[6] said that his message to the murderers was that ‘we are here and we are strong and we will prevail." [1]

See also

Notes
  1. ' Springs on the West Bank have become flash points between Palestinians who bathe or water their flocks in them and Jewish settlers who have increasingly sought to prevent them from doing so. A 2012 United Nations report identified 30 springs that had been completely “taken over” by settlers and another 26, including Ein Bubin, that were “at risk” of takeover, whether by frequent tourism or by the presence of armed patrols seen as intimidating to Palestinians.'[6]
  2. 'According to Dror Etkes, the founder of Kerem Navot, an organization that studies Israeli land policy in the West Bank, there are today more than 60 springs in the central West Bank that settlers coveted and seized as part of a project of plunder that began 10 years ago. The landscaping and renovation work at about half of them has been completed, the dispossession made absolute, the Palestinians blocked from even approaching the springs and their lands. Other springs targeted by the settlers are in various stages of takeover.[5]

Citations
  1. BBC 2019.
  2. "One killed, two wounded in Israeli settlement bomb attack". Al Jazeera. 23 August 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  3. David Israel (Sep 29, 2018). "Head of Terror Squad that Murdered Rina Shnerb in Critical Condition following Interrogation". JewishPress.com.
  4. Avi Issacharoff (23 August 2019). "Deadly Friday attack shows W. Bank heating up, as Hamas senses Israeli weakness". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  5. Levy & Levac 2019.
  6. Halbfiner 2019.
  7. Hass 2019.
  8. Sokol 2019.
  9. Alon Einhorn (29 September 2019). "Security forces arrest terrorists who murdered Rina Shnerb". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  10. "IDF demolishes West Bank homes of 2 suspected killers of Rina Shnerb". The Times of Israel. 5 March 2020.
  11. Staff writer (23 August 2019). "After deadly attack, right-wing calls to annex West Bank, criticizes PM". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  12. Staff writer (23 August 2019). "Hamas lauds 'heroic' perpetrators of bombing attack in which Israeli teen killed". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  13. Staff writer (24 August 2019). "PA officials say West Bank attack indicates highly organized cell — report". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  14. Sarare (2020-04-24). "WATCH: Interview With Rina Shnerb's Parents: "For Am Yisrael, Victory Is Life"". The Yeshiva World. Retrieved 2020-04-26.

Sources
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