2010 Tapuah Junction stabbing

Last updated

Tapuah Junction stabbing
Israel outline shomron.png
Red pog.svg
class=notpageimage|
The attack site
Location Tapuah Junction, Road 60, West Bank
Coordinates 32°06′55″N35°15′26″E / 32.11528°N 35.25722°E / 32.11528; 35.25722
Date10 February 2010 (2010-02-10)
Attack type
Stabbing
Deaths1 soldier
Assailant Palestinian Authority police officer Muhammad Hatib
Participant1

On 10 February 2010, Palestinian Authority police officer Muhammad Hatib stabbed Druze Israeli soldier Ihab Khatib to death as the latter was sitting in a jeep at a traffic light. [1] [2] The attack was considered part of an "emerging trend" at the time, involving assaults on Israelis by members of the Palestinian Authority security services. [3]

Contents

Background

Peter Lerner, spokesman for the Israeli military in the West Bank, said that it was "extraordinary that a Palestinian policeman would carry out such an attack." [4] The attack took place in an area controlled by Israeli police, not in an area where the Palestinian police had authority. [5] It is one of a number of attacks and thwarted Arab terrorist attacks that have taken place at Tapuach Junction, located south of Nablus. [6] [7]

The attack came amid rising tension between Palestinians and Israeli settlers in the West Bank. In the preceding months, settlers were accused of having launched attacks on their Palestinian neighbors, including setting vehicles, homes, and a mosque on fire. [8]

According to Isabel Kershner, this attack took place at a "delicate time" when Israeli and Palestinian security services were attempting to build "mutual trust." [5] [9] This incident together with the killing of Rabbi Meir Hai a month earlier, in which Palestinian police were implicated, raised concerns that Palestinian Authority police might use their weapons to attack Israeli soldiers, Israeli civilians, or both. [10] [11] The Boston Globe called this attack unusual since although violent attacks had at one time been frequent in the West Bank, they had become "relatively rare" since Palestinian Police had taken increased responsibility for security. [4]

However, an unnamed Israeli official told the press that Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad was "actively encouraging Palestinians to use popular resistance against Israel." [10] [12] Israeli columnist Caroline Glick argues that this attack was the result of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's ongoing "incitement against Israel," rhetoric that "encourages his own forces to attack Israelis." [13] Writing in Haaretz, security analyst Avi Issacharoff described the attack as part of an "emerging trend," a series of attacks on Israelis carried out by Palestinian security personnel, including the killing of Killing of Rabbi Meir Hai two months earlier, caused by incitement to terrorism by members of the Palestinian Authority government. [3]

Following the attack, IDF Samaria Brigade commander Col. Itzhik Bar stated that since the beginning of 2010, IDF troops had foiled 20 stabbing attacks and uncovered 12 bombs. [1]

Attack

Ihab Khatib, a Druze Israeli policeman, was on his way from Jenin to a military outpost near Tapuah Junction, and was sitting alone in his jeep with the window open, waiting at a traffic light. [14] Hatib, wearing civilian clothes, approached, pulled out a knife, reached through the window and thrust the knife into Khatib, who tried to escape by pressing down on the gas pedal, but his jeep flipped over on the side of the road when he lost consciousness. Hatib tried to flee by car, but Yossi Margalit, a security officer for the Rechelim settlement who was nearby, rammed his own car into him, causing light wounds. Hatib was arrested by Israeli soldiers and given medical attention. He was then transferred to the Shin Bet for questioning. [1] [2] [8] [15] [16] [17] Sergeant Khatib was rushed to Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva, but died of his wounds. [11] He was buried the following day in his home village.

Victim

St.-Sgt. Maj. Ihab Khatib (alt. Ihab Chattib; aged 28) was a Druze Arab non-commissioned logistics officer in the Kfir Brigade. [11] [18] He hailed from the mainly Druze village of Maghar in the Galilee. [19] [20] He was survived by his parents and five siblings. Khatib's uncle had been killed in action while serving in the Israel Defense Forces during the 2006 Lebanon War, and his aunt had been killed when a Katyusha rocket fired by Lebanese militant group Hezbollah hit her house. [1] [15]

Perpetrator

Muhammad Hatib (alt. Mahmoud al-Khattib; Mahmoud Yusef Nimer Hattib) 34-year old Palestinian police officer. At the time of the incident, he was the head of bureau for the Palestinian Authority's chief of Police in Ramallah. [9] [1] [21] Hatib was dressed in civilian clothing at the time of the attack. [5] Israeli Brigadier General Nitzan Alon, who had had contact with the killer shortly after the incident, reported that Hatib had "said he was tired of living" [22] and that the subsequent investigation failed to reveal any signs of "organisational affiliation or of clear ideological reasons", linking the act to militant groups or a larger plot. [21] [22] Israeli media reports suggested "this was an indication Mr. Khatib[sic] may have hoped he would be killed as he carried out the alleged attack." [21] [22] Military sources also reported that Hatib appeared to be pursuing a military target, "since he waited on the side of the road when he could have attacked Israelis at a nearby hitchhiking post." [1]

Hatib was not among the officers trained by the European Union Police Mission for the Palestinian Territories. [23]

MK Ayoub Kara called for the death penalty to be imposed on the assailant. [9]

Response

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad issued a "rare" condemnation of the attack, stating that it "conflicts with our national interests", and pledged to take steps to prevent such incidents in the future. However, an Israeli government source said that while the Palestinian Authority had made marked improvements in its security apparatus, it was more hesitant in dealing with extremists in its own movement. [1] [24]

Director-General of the Palestinian Authority Minister of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, Osama al-Ghoul, demanded that the attacker, Mahmoud Yusef Nimer Hatib, be released from custody in an Israeli hospital, saying, "Of course [he should be released]. We are fighting the Israeli occupied[sic]. This is our land." [25]

The Tapuah Junction was renamed in honor of Staff Sergeant Major Ihab Khatib. [26]

Member of the Knesset Ayoub Kara called on the government "to strengthen our hold in the land of Israel and the state of Israel” by building “a new town right here, where our beloved Ihab fell, a town named after him that will serve as a memorial." [27]

The editorial board of The Jerusalem Post used this stabbing attack to argue for increased security in the West Bank. [28] Residents of Samaria argued that the government's policy of removing of the security checkpoint enabled this murder to happen. [29]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Israeli checkpoint</span> Barrier used by Israeli Security Forces

An Israeli checkpoint, is a barrier erected by the Israeli Security Forces, primarily today part of the system of West Bank closures in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The checkpoints are, according to Israel, intended to enhance security of Israel and Israeli settlements. Israeli checkpoints may be staffed by the Israeli Military Police, the Israel Border Police, or other soldiers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yitzhar</span> Israeli settlement in the West Bank

Yitzhar is an Israeli settlement located in the West Bank, south of the city of Nablus, just off Route 60, north of the Tapuach Junction. The predominantly Orthodox Jewish community falls under the jurisdiction of Shomron Regional Council. In 2022, it had a population of 2,093.

The ongoing conflict between Palestinians and Jewish Israeli settlers in the West Bank city of Hebron is part of the wider Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Hebron has a Palestinian majority, consisting of an estimated 208,750 citizens (2015) and a small Jewish minority, variously numbered between 500 and 800. The H1 sector of Hebron, home to around 170,000 Palestinians, is governed by the Palestinian Authority. H2, which was inhabited by around 30,000 Palestinians, is under Israeli military control with an entire brigade in place to protect some 800 Jewish residents living in the old Jewish quarter. As of 2015, Israel has declared that a number of special areas of Old City of Hebron constitute a closed military zone. Palestinians shops have been forced to close; despite protests Palestinian women are reportedly frisked by men, and residents, who are subjected every day to repeated body searches, must register to obtain special permits to navigate through the 18 military checkpoints Israel has set up in the city center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killing of Rabbi Meir Hai</span> 2009 killing of Israeli settler by Palestinian militants in the West Bank, Palestine

On 24 December 2009, three Palestinian gunmen opened fire on a vehicle near Shavei Shomron in the West Bank, killing an Israeli settler. The Imad Mughniyeh Group, a little-known affiliate of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, the armed wing of the Fatah party, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Events in the year 2008 in the Palestinian territories.

The 2010 Palestinian militancy campaign was a coordinated effort by 13 Palestinian militant groups, led by Islamist group Hamas, to derail peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The campaign consisted of attacks against Israelis in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Israel in which, according to a Hamas declaration in early September, "all options are open". The participating groups also included Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular Resistance Committees and an unnamed splinter group of Fatah. Some Israeli and Palestinian officials and analysts familiar with Hamas believe that the true target of the campaign is the Palestinian Authority, which is led by Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gush Etzion Junction</span>

Gush Etzion Junction("Tzomet HaGush") also known as Gush Junction is a 120-dunam business, commercial and tourism center in the southern West Bank, which serves as the entry point to the Gush Etzion bloc of settlements. It is administered by the Gush Etzion Regional Council.

The 2011 Tel Aviv nightclub attack was a combined vehicular assault and stabbing attack which occured on 29 August 2011 when a Palestinian attacker stole an Israeli taxi cab and rammed it into a police checkpoint guarding the popular nightclub, Haoman 17, in Tel Aviv which was filled with 2,000 Israeli teenagers. After crashing into the checkpoint, the attacker jumped out of the vehicle and began stabbing people. Four civilians, four police officers, and the assailant were injured in the attack. The assailant was living illegally in Israel at the time of the attack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Price tag attack policy</span> Acts of vandalism and violence committed by extremist Israeli settler youths

The price tag attack policy, also sometimes referred to as "mutual responsibility", is the name originally given to the attacks and acts of vandalism committed primarily in the occupied West Bank by extremist Israeli settler youths against Palestinian Arabs, and to a lesser extent, against left-wing Israeli Jews, Israeli Arabs, Christians, and Israeli security forces. The youths officially claim that the acts are committed to "exact a price from local Palestinians or from the Israeli security forces for any action taken against their settlement enterprise".

The 2013 Tapuah Junction stabbing occurred on 30 April, in which an armed Israeli settler, Evyatar Borovsky, was stabbed, disarmed and then, according to some witnesses, shot with his own weapon at a bus stop in the northern West Bank by a Palestinian resident of Tulkarem. The Israeli police described the attacker as a "Palestinian terrorist". The perpetrator was identified as Salam As'ad Zaghal, who had recently been released from 3.5 years in jail for planting explosives. The stabbing was praised by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party, its military wing, and its Islamist offshoot the Palestinian Mujahideen movement, and by Zaghal's family. Jewish settlers in the West Bank waged a series of violent reprisal attacks against Palestinian targets in the West Bank, and an Israeli outpost was later named in the victim's honor.

Sergeant Almog Shiloni of the Israel Defense Forces was killed on 10 November 2014 after he was stabbed multiple times at Tel Aviv HaHagana Railway Station. He died in hospital from his wounds. Shiloni was off-duty, but in uniform and armed at the time.

List of violent events related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict occurring in the second half of 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015–2016 wave of violence in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict</span> Notable increase of violence in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict

An increase of violence occurred in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict starting in the autumn of 2015 and lasting into the first half of 2016. It was called the "Intifada of the Individuals" by Israeli sources, the Knife Intifada, Stabbing Intifada or Jerusalem Intifada by international sources because of the many stabbings in Jerusalem, or Habba by Palestinian sources. 38 Israelis and 235 Palestinians were killed in the violence. 558 Israelis and thousands of Palestinians were injured.

This is a Timeline of events related to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict during 2016.

The following is a timeline of events during the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in 2017.

On 14 July 2017, three Arab-Israeli men left the Temple Mount, and opened fire on Israeli border police officers stationed near the Gate of the Tribes which is close to the Lions' Gate. Two Israeli border police officers were killed and two more were injured in the attack. All three attackers were shot and killed by Israeli police after fleeing back into the complex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Temple Mount crisis</span>

The 2017 Temple Mount crisis was a period of violent tensions related to the Temple Mount, which began on 14 July 2017, after a shooting incident in the complex in which Palestinian gunmen killed two Israeli police officers. Following the attack, Israeli authorities installed metal detectors at the entrance to the Mount in a step that caused large Palestinian protests and was severely criticized by Palestinian leaders, the Arab League, and other Muslim leaders, on the basis that it constituted a change in the "status quo" of the Temple Mount entry restrictions.

The following is a list of events during the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in 2022.

The following is a list of events during the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in 2023.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Terrorist was a PA officer", jpost.com; accessed 20 November 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Israeli soldier stabbed to death in West Bank" [ dead link ], Associated Press; accessed 20 November 2014.
  3. 1 2 Issacharoff, Avi (2 November 2010). "Soldier's Murder Was Latest in Trend of Terror by PA Security". Haaretz. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  4. 1 2 Goldenberg, Tia (11 February 2010). "Israeli soldier dies in West Bank attack: A Palestinian police officer held". Boston Globe. ProQuest   404737850.
  5. 1 2 3 Kershner, Isabel (11 February 2010). "West Bank Attack Kills Soldier". The New York Times. ProQuest   1458373497.
  6. ↑ Amouyal, Noa (1 May 2013). "A history of incidents at Tapuah Junction". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  7. ↑ "Palestinian stabs Israeli to death in West Bank". Times of Israel. 30 April 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  8. 1 2 Blomfield, Adrian (10 February 2010). "Israeli soldier stabbed to death in West Bank". The Telegraph. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  9. 1 2 3 "Hundreds Attend Funeral of IDF Officer Killed in West Bank Attack". Haaretz. 2 February 2010. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  10. 1 2 Katz, Yaakov (1 March 2010). "Fayyad is inciting violence, defense officials charge.: Hebron clashes spread from Hebron to Temple Mount. PA, Jordan: Israel provoked escalation". Jerusalem Post. ProQuest   319726758.
  11. 1 2 3 Issacharoff, Avi (11 February 2010). "Soldier From Elite Unit Fatally Stabbed by Palestinian Police Officer in W. Bank". Haaretz. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  12. ↑ "Defence officials accuse Palestinian PM of "inciting anti-Israeli violence"". BBC. 1 March 2010. ProQuest   458754502.
  13. ↑ Glick, Caroline (19 February 2010). "The Fatah fairy tale". Jerusalem Post. ProQuest   319709053.
  14. ↑ Lapin, Yaakov (30 March 2014). "Border Police stop terrorist en-route to suicide bombing at Tapuah Junction". JerusalemPost. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  15. 1 2 Palestinian PM condemns West Bank 'stabbing incident', Haaretz.com, 10 February 2010.
  16. ↑ PA Policeman Kills IDF Soldier, CBN.com, 11 February 2010.
  17. ↑ Gilbert, Martin (2012). The Routledge Atlas of the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Routledge. ISBN   978-1135108656.
  18. ↑ "Ihab Khatib". MFA. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  19. ↑ Mualem, Mazal (1 July 2014). "Druze Knesset member slams Arab leaders as 'weak'". Al-Monitor . Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  20. ↑ Benillouche, Jacques (10 July 2010). "Les druzes d'Israël plus nationalistes que les juifs". Slate. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  21. 1 2 3 Palestinian policeman who killed soldier 'had personal problems', Haaretz, 11 February 2010.
  22. 1 2 3 Israeli soldier's alleged killer 'was tired of life', BBC, 11 February 2010.
  23. ↑ Katz, Yaakov (2 February 2010). "EU police advisers: We didn't train PA officer who killed soldier". Jerusalem Post. ProQuest   319713255.
  24. ↑ "Army raids home of alleged attacker". Ma'an. 10 February 2010. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  25. ↑ "Three Bomb-Toting Teens Arrested". CBN News. 15 February 2010. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  26. ↑ Keinon, Herb (14 February 2010). "News in Brief". Jerusalem Post. ProQuest   319714898.
  27. ↑ "Shomron Honors Druze Soldier Murdered at Tapuach Junction". Israel National News. 22 February 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  28. ↑ Editorial Board (2 September 2010). "Security is a Must (ex cathedra editorial)". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  29. ↑ "Samaria Jews Appeal to PM, 'Barak is Creating Security Chaos'". Israel National News. 12 February 2011. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.