The attack
On May 2, 2021, a Muntasir Shalabi drove by a bus station in Tapuah Junction and opened fire Towards a group of Israeli Yeshiva students waiting at a bus stop at the junction. Using a pistol, the shooter managed to critically injured Yehuda Guetta, who died from his wounds three days later, on May 5. [2] [3] Two other students were also injured, one seriously and the other lightly. [1] The three students were students of Yeshivat Itamar, that located in Itamar and were on their way to the Yeshivah. [2] [4] [5]
Aftermath
Shin Bet agents and Israel Police's elite counter-terror troops launched a manhunt launched a manhunt for the perpetrator which went on for 4 days. Clashes and stone throwing occurred during this period and a Palestinian was killed. Palestinians allegedly set the attacker's car on fire to erase forensic evidence. During the manhunt Shalabi's wife and 17 year old son were both detained. [6] 12 people were arrested for suspicion of aiding and abetting terrorists. [7] [8] [9] [10]
On May 6, 2021, Israeli forces arrested the perpetrator, Muntasser Shalabi, a Palestinian-American from the town of Turmus Ayya. [11] Shin Bet said that Shalabi was not known to belong to any terrorist groups. [12] Shalabi was charged with intentional homicide, three counts of attempted homicide, possession and use of an unlicensed weapon, and obstruction of justice. [13]
He was convicted on 5 January 2022 and was sentenced one life sentence for the murder of Guetta and a second life sentence for the attempted murders. He was also ordered to pay 1 million shekels ($323,000 USD) to Guetta's family. Judges in the case said that Shalabi had been planning the attack for more than a month, and the chief judge in the case Lt. Gen. Meirav Hershkovitz-Yitzhaki said Shalabi was motivated by a “burning hatred and a desire to murder Jews.” [14] [15] [16]
1500 people attended Guetta's funeral, including, Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion, Jerusalem Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar and Jerusalem Affairs Minister Rafi Peretz, and Itamar Ben-Gvir from Israel's Religious Zionist Party. [17]
Shalabi's home in Turmus Ayya was demolished by Israeli authorities in July 2021. The US government criticized the demolition of the home, which was owned by a Palestinian-American family. Shalabi's wife described her husband as a "resister" and said she would rebuild the house. [18] State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said “the home of an entire family shouldn’t be demolished for the action of one individual.” According to Axios, this is the first time since the new Israeli government was formed that the Biden administration has criticized its actions in the West Bank. Price also said that going forward the US State Department would priortize pushing the Israeli government to stop these home demolitions. [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24]
Following the murder of Guetta, 2021, israeli settlers re-established the Evyatar outpost in the West Bank. [25] [26] The outpost, originally founded in 2013 after the murder of Evyatar Borovsky and named after him, was re-established by Nachala and the Shomron Regional Council as a direct "response" to Guetta's killing. [27] Located approximately 1.6 kilometers east of Tapuah Junction, near the Palestinian villages of Yatma and Beita, the outpost grew to include around 50 families. [28] The re-establishment sparked daily clashes between Palestinian and Israeli security forces resulting in the deaths of four Palestinians by Israeli forces. [29]
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