PA accuses Israeli "settlers" of murdering Palestinian boy

Bulletin   July 2, 2014

The PA accuses Israeli "settlers"  of murdering Palestinian boy   Israeli PM Netanyahu orders investigation  of "reprehensible murder," instructs investigators to "work as quickly as possible"   Israeli officials quick to condemn murder of Palestinian boy, unlike the PA, which has not yet issued an official condemnation of the murder of the three Israeli teens  http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=11907   by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik   The Palestinian Authority has been quick to blame Israel for the murder of the Palestinian youth Muhammad Abu Khdeir. A dead body was found this morning in a Jerusalem forest, and it is suspected to be that of a Palestinian boy who was reported missing last night. At the time of writing, the identity of the body has not yet been confirmed.   This morning, official PA TV broadcast news tickers about the murder, accusing Israeli "settlers" of carrying it out, holding "the Israeli government fullyresponsible," and stating that PA Chairman Abbas has demanded a condemnation of the murder by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu:   "The Palestinian leadership condemns the murder of the youth [Muhammad] Abu Khdeir by settlers and holds the Israeli government fullyresponsible."   "The President [Mahmoud Abbas] demands that [Israeli PM Benjamin] Netanyahu condemn the murder of Abu Khdeir by settlers." [Official PA TV, July 2, 2014]   Calling the murder of the Palestinian boy "reprehensible," Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed investigators to "work as quickly as possible" to solve the crime, a press release said. Netanyahu also urged "all sides" not to "take the law into their own hands":   "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today spoke with Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch and asked that law-enforcement elements work as quickly as possible in order to investigate who is behind the reprehensible murder and what the motive was. The Prime Minister calls on all sides not to take the law into their own hands and noted that Israel is a nation of laws and everyone must act according to the law." [Press release, website of the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, July 2, 2014 http://www.pmo.gov.il/English/MediaCenter/Spokesman/Pages/spokeinterior020714.aspx]   Unlike PA and Fatah officials, who have not yet issued any official condemnation of the murder of the three kidnapped Israeli teens, Israeli officials have been quick to publicly condemn the murder of Muhammad Abu Khdeir. Among them are Ministers Uri Ariel and Tzipi Livni, as well as Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat and others. [The Jerusalem Post, July 2, 2014 and Jewishpress.com, July 2, 2014]   The official PA news agency WAFA reported in English that the "Palestinian presidency condemned the kidnapping and cold-blooded killing of a Palestinian teenager by Israeli settlers." The report also stated that the "Presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh held Israel fully responsible for the cold-blooded killing of Abu Khudair and called on Israel to reveal the identity of the criminals and hold them accountable."   Referring to the recent kidnapping and murder of the three Israeli teens Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaar, and Naftali Frenkel, WAFA even sowed doubt about that kidnapping, stating that the murder of the Palestinian boy happened "two days following the discovery of the bodies of three settlers who allegedly went missing on June 12th near Hebron." (emphasis added by Palestinian Media Watch)   An Arabic news report from WAFA stated, like official PA TV, that Abbas has demanded that Netanyahu "condemn the kidnapping and murder of the teen Muhammad Abu Khdeir, as we condemned the kidnapping and murder of the three settlers." However, there has been no official Palestinian condemnation of the murder of the three Israeli teens. Before the boys were found murdered, Abbas spoke out against the kidnapping, stating that the Israeli teens "are, first and foremost, human beings, and we want to protect human lives." But since the discovery of the boys Abbas has not issued any statement condemning the murder.   As mentioned, at the time of writing, the dead body has not yet been identified. Israeli Police is looking into two possible motives for the crime, which could be either criminal or nationalistic. However, the PA has already placed the blame on Israel. The independent Palestinian news agency Ma'an reported that the PA Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a strong condemnation of "Jewish terrorists," who the Ministry said had "tortured, murdered, and burned" the Palestinian boy: "The [PA] Foreign Ministry condemned in strongest possible language the abominable crime perpetrated by Jewish terrorists against the youth Muhammad Hussein Abu Khdeir, 16, who was kidnapped by extremist settlers in front of his home in Shuafat. They tortured him, murdered him, burned his body and threw it in a grove." [Ma'an (independent Palestinian news agency), July 2, 2014]   Describing Israel's frantic search for the three kidnapped Israelis during the past two weeks as "the incitement [campaign] to murder and blind revenge," the Ministry held Netanyahu responsible for the murder of the Palestinian youth: "The Ministry placed full responsibility for this wild and barbaric act, perpetrated by Jewish terrorism, on the Israeli government. In addition, it held Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ministers personally accountable for this barbaric crime and for all the crimes perpetrated by Jewish terrorism as a result of the incitement [campaign] tomurder and blind revenge they have been conducting for the past two weeks (i.e., since the disappearance of the three murdered Israeli youths)." [Ma'an (independent Palestinian news agency), July 2, 2014]    On June 12, 2014, three Israeli teens, Eyal Yifrach, 19, Gilad Shaar, 16, and Naftali Frenkel, 16, were kidnapped while hitchhiking in the West Bank. Israel responded to the kidnapping by conducting house-to-house searches in Hebron and arresting hundreds of Hamas members. The boys' bodies were found by Israeli security forces near Hebron on June 30, 2014. They appeared to have been shot to death soon after the abduction.   See Palestinian Media Watch's documentation of PA and Fatah responses to thekidnapping and murder of the three Israeli teens.   The following is the official PA news agency WAFA's report in English on the murder of the Palestinian boy, accusing Israeli "settlers":   "Palestinian presidency Wednesday condemned the kidnapping and cold-blooded killing of a Palestinian teenager by Israeli settlers in Jerusalem earlier on Wednesday. Seventeen-year-old Mohammad Hussein Abu-Khudair, from the Arab East Jerusalem neighborhood of Shuafat, was kidnapped by settlers in the predawn hours and was later killed in cold blood. According to eyewitnesses, surveillance cameras in the area showed two settlers, out of three, getting out of a Hyundai car, forcing Abu-Khudair, who was standing in front of his home, into their car and fleeing the scene. The body of Abu Khudair, which bore signs of violence, was later found in a wood located west of Jerusalem Presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh held Israel fully responsible for the cold-blooded killing of Abu Khudair and called on Israel to reveal the identity of the criminals and hold them accountable. The incident comes one day after settlers attempted to kidnap an eight-year-old child while he was walking with his mother in the Jerusalem suburb of Beit Hanina, but thanks to the crowds of people the kidnapping attempt failed. Tobe noted, the killing of Abu Khudair came two days following the discovery of the bodies of three settlers who allegedly went missing on June 12th near Hebron."  [WAFA, the official PA news agency, English website, July 2, 2014 http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=25693]   The following are more reports from the official PA news agency WAFA in Arabic and the independent news agency Ma'an on the murder of the Palestinian boy   "The [Palestinian] Presidency condemned the murder of the youth Muhammad Hussein Abu Khdeir, 17, from the village of Shuafat in northern occupied Jerusalem, after he was kidnapped early this Wednesday morning. The President's [Mahmoud Abbas'] spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeina, laid full responsibility for the murder of the teen on Israel and demanded that it find the criminals and settle the account with them." [WAFA (the official Palestinian news agency), July 2, 2014]   "The President of the State of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, demanded that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemn the kidnapping and murder of the teen Muhammad Abu Khdeir, as we condemned the kidnapping and murder of the three settlers. The President demanded that Israel take real steps on the ground to stop the settlers' attacks, the anarchy that has developed following the Israeli escalation and the dangerous atmosphere that has been created as a result, which has led to the deaths of fifteen [Palestinian] citizens since the beginning of June." [WAFA (the official Palestinian news agency), July 2, 2014]   "The [PA] Foreign Ministry condemned in strongest possible language the abominable crime perpetrated by Jewish terrorists against the youth Muhammad Hussein Abu Khdeir, 16, who was kidnapped by extremist settlers in front of his home in Shuafat. They tortured him, murdered him, burned his body and threw it in a grove near the village of Deir Yassin. In addition, the Ministry condemned the attempt by extremist settlers to kidnap the child Musa Rami Zalum, 8, while walking with his parents in theneighborhood of Beit Hanina. Residents who gathered and intervened in time thwarted this attempt, and the terrorists fled in their car. The Ministry placed full responsibility for this wild and barbaric act, perpetrated by Jewish terrorism, on the Israeli government. In addition, it held Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ministers personally accountable for this barbaric crime and for all the crimes perpetrated by Jewish terrorism as a result of the incitement [campaign] tomurder and blind revenge they have been conducting for the past two weeks (i.e., since the disappearance of the three murdered Israeli youths). The Ministry demanded that the Israeli government publish a sharp condemnation of this horrible crime, and form a joint committee with thePalestinian side to investigate this crime and bring the criminals to justice. In addition, the Foreign Ministry demanded the [UN] Security Council publish acondemnation of this crime, which was perpetrated against the youth Abu Khdeir because he was a Palestinian Arab. [The Ministry added:] 'In addition,we expect the international leaders who condemned the murder of the threesettlers to strongly condemn the murder and burning of the Palestinian youth Abu Khdeir.'" [Ma'an (independent Palestinian news agency), July 2, 2014]