This latest incident in Yesha should give comfort to Israel's enemies. It seems to confirm reports I have heard many times in the past that the police in Judea and Samaria act against the interests of the communities they are supposed to be protecting.
With the frequent attempts by palestinian arabs to infiltrate jewish villages to carry out attacks, the slaughter of the Fogel family was not unique other than by the fiendish success of the attack. Shepherds are one of the ways in which the intelligence is gained by arabs of weak points of entry in preparation for an attack on a jewish community. So it is understandable that those who care about their security do not want arab shepherds getting close to their communities and families.
Here the police posed as shepherds and came provocatively close to the jewish village. It is acceptable in law that if you feel threatened or if there is an intruder on your land to use reasonable force to remove the threat. Before force was applied the 'shepherds' were quite reasonably asked to leave the area.
It is outrageous that those protecting their land were arrested and are still being held on remand.
Sadly there are those in Israel who still, even after the Gaza retreat debacle who see the jews of Yesha as a threat to peace rather than protecting the peace of Israel along the whole length of the coastal strip, the Shephela. Were the jewish communities of Yesha not living on the ovelooking heights, Tel-Aviv and Haifa would come under regular rocket attack.
Israeli authorities must release the inhabitants of Mount Sinai farm.
Suspicion: Settlers attacked cops posing as Palestinian shepherds
Undercover officers beaten by Jewish settlers with clubs after approaching farm they were staying in. Legal aid group: Police treats settlers like worst enemies
Itamar Fleishman
Three young Jewish settlers are suspected of attacking undercover police officers who were posing as Palestinian shepherds. One officer was injured in the incident.
According to police, the suspects punched the officers and attacked them with clubs because they assumed they were Arabs approaching the farm they were staying in. The Mount Sinai farm is located in the south Mount Hebron area.
On Sunday the Jerusalem District Court extended the suspects' remand until Tuesday. An indictment is expected to be filed in the coming days. A fourth suspect is still at large.
The volatile south Mount Hebron area has seen a number of clashes between settlers and Palestinians as of late. As part of the effort to apprehend some of the attackers, last week police officers disguised as Palestinian shepherds approached the Mount Sinai farm. According to the police, one of the suspects walked over to the undercover officers and told them they must leave the property immediately. When they did not comply, the suspect alerted his friends. The friends, who were masked and equipped with clubs, proceeded to attack the police officers. At some point the officers identified themselves and arrested the assailants, apart from one who managed to escape.
During Sunday's court hearing the police representative said the officers did not provoke the suspects, who claimed they mistook the officers for terrorists.
The suspects further claimed that before attacking the undercover officers they turned to the army and police and asked that they clear the "shepherds" from the property. When no one showed up, the suspects claimed, they were forced to take matters into their own hands.
Judge Dov Pollock was not convinced and extended their remand, saying the suspects may be dangerous.
Honenu, an "Israeli Zionist" legal aid organization, which is handling the case on the suspects' behalf, said police are "continuing to treat the residents of the West Bank as though they are enemies and are employing against them means that are used against our worst enemies."
With the frequent attempts by palestinian arabs to infiltrate jewish villages to carry out attacks, the slaughter of the Fogel family was not unique other than by the fiendish success of the attack. Shepherds are one of the ways in which the intelligence is gained by arabs of weak points of entry in preparation for an attack on a jewish community. So it is understandable that those who care about their security do not want arab shepherds getting close to their communities and families.
Here the police posed as shepherds and came provocatively close to the jewish village. It is acceptable in law that if you feel threatened or if there is an intruder on your land to use reasonable force to remove the threat. Before force was applied the 'shepherds' were quite reasonably asked to leave the area.
It is outrageous that those protecting their land were arrested and are still being held on remand.
Sadly there are those in Israel who still, even after the Gaza retreat debacle who see the jews of Yesha as a threat to peace rather than protecting the peace of Israel along the whole length of the coastal strip, the Shephela. Were the jewish communities of Yesha not living on the ovelooking heights, Tel-Aviv and Haifa would come under regular rocket attack.
Israeli authorities must release the inhabitants of Mount Sinai farm.
Suspicion: Settlers attacked cops posing as Palestinian shepherds
Undercover officers beaten by Jewish settlers with clubs after approaching farm they were staying in. Legal aid group: Police treats settlers like worst enemies
Itamar Fleishman
Three young Jewish settlers are suspected of attacking undercover police officers who were posing as Palestinian shepherds. One officer was injured in the incident.
According to police, the suspects punched the officers and attacked them with clubs because they assumed they were Arabs approaching the farm they were staying in. The Mount Sinai farm is located in the south Mount Hebron area.
On Sunday the Jerusalem District Court extended the suspects' remand until Tuesday. An indictment is expected to be filed in the coming days. A fourth suspect is still at large.
The volatile south Mount Hebron area has seen a number of clashes between settlers and Palestinians as of late. As part of the effort to apprehend some of the attackers, last week police officers disguised as Palestinian shepherds approached the Mount Sinai farm. According to the police, one of the suspects walked over to the undercover officers and told them they must leave the property immediately. When they did not comply, the suspect alerted his friends. The friends, who were masked and equipped with clubs, proceeded to attack the police officers. At some point the officers identified themselves and arrested the assailants, apart from one who managed to escape.
During Sunday's court hearing the police representative said the officers did not provoke the suspects, who claimed they mistook the officers for terrorists.
The suspects further claimed that before attacking the undercover officers they turned to the army and police and asked that they clear the "shepherds" from the property. When no one showed up, the suspects claimed, they were forced to take matters into their own hands.
Judge Dov Pollock was not convinced and extended their remand, saying the suspects may be dangerous.
Honenu, an "Israeli Zionist" legal aid organization, which is handling the case on the suspects' behalf, said police are "continuing to treat the residents of the West Bank as though they are enemies and are employing against them means that are used against our worst enemies."
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