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
LocationEin Bubin (near Dolev), West Bank
Date23 August 2019
WeaponsRoadside IED
Deaths1 (Rina Shnerb)
Injured2 (Eitan Shnerb, Dvir Shnerb)
VictimsShnerb family
PerpetratorPFLP

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] Springs, in particular, are flash-points in the conflict between Israelis settlers and the local Palestinian villagers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank,[6] with, according to Dror Ektes, over 60 springs seized in the past 10 years so far, and thereupon reserved for Jewish use only.[7]

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.[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 (IDF) 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 Palestinians as well as Israelis.[13]

On 21 April 2020, eight months after the murder, which was Yom HaShoah, Rina's mother gave birth to a girl. Her parents considered naming the baby Rina but decided that "Rina is still with us in spirit", and gave the newly-born a different name.[14]

Palestinian villagers have so far resisted efforts to take over the Ein Bubin spring and can still access it.[8] The father, an IDF reserve military chaplain,[15] said that his message to the murderers is "we are here and we are strong and we will prevail".[1]

As a reaction to the attack, Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Sigrid Kaag temporarily halted aid payments given to the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, an organisation which paid salaries to the perpetrators.[16][17][18]

In April 2022, a new spring in the Jordan Valley was dedicated to Shnerb.[19]

See also

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 (29 September 2018). "Head of Terror Squad that Murdered Rina Shnerb in Critical Condition following Interrogation". JewishPress.com. Archived from the original on 30 September 2019.
  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. Halbfinger 2019. '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.'
  7. Levy & Levac 2019. '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.'
  8. Hass 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 (24 April 2020). "WATCH: Interview With Rina Shnerb's Parents: "For Am Yisrael, Victory Is Life"". The Yeshiva World. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  15. Halbfinger 2019.
  16. "Kaag schort subsidie op aan Palestijnse organisatie die terreurverdachten in dienst had". nos.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  17. JTA and TOI staff. "Netherlands suspends aid to group that employed suspected Palestinian terrorists". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  18. Pfahler, Lennart (26 July 2020). "Terror im Westjordanland: Rina (†17), ihre Mörder und das Geld aus Europa". DIE WELT. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  19. Forsher, Efrat. "New Jordan Valley spring named after terror victim Rina Shnerb". www.israelhayom.com. Retrieved 19 April 2022.

Sources
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