Itamar's multiple murder

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The murder of a family in Itamar occurred on the morning of March 11, 2011 in the Israeli settlement of Itamar in the West Bank.

Sequence of events

The perpetrators penetrated through Itamar's security fence and killed the parents and three children of the Fogel family. Palestinian extremists were suspected to be the perpetrators . The Palestinian al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades initially confessed to the murder . Due to the circumstances, however , the Israeli army doubted the direct involvement of a terrorist organization and assumed one or more individual perpetrators. Meanwhile, several websites linked to the Palestinian Authority spread the word that the massacre was carried out by a foreign worker to whom the settler family allegedly owed money. However, according to the Israeli news site Arutz Sheva, Itamar did not employ any foreign workers.

Reactions

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the massacre as "a despicable, immoral and inhuman act". According to a survey by Israeli and Palestinian pollsters, 32 percent of Palestinians supported the murder and 63 percent condemned it (West Bank 20% versus 80%, Gaza 51% versus 49%). In response to the massacre, the Israeli government approved 400 new settlements and there were attacks by militant settlers on innocent Palestinians.

Investigation and Judgment

In April 2011, two Palestinian suspects were arrested from the neighboring village of Awarta to Itamar. The two 18- and 19-year-old youths, Hakim and Amjad Awad, were members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine . However, the Israeli domestic secret service Shin Bet found no evidence that they were acting on behalf of the terrorist organization . Six other residents of the village - including four family members of the suspects - were arrested for attempting to hide evidence.

On September 13, 2011, Hakim Awad was sentenced by a military court to five life sentences plus five years in prison. In May 2011, there were still considerations as to whether the death penalty should not be applied for, as neither showed any remorse. This would only have been symbolic, since a death sentence was possible in Israel, but was only carried out once against the genocide Adolf Eichmann . Amjad Awad was sentenced on November 28, 2011 and received the same sentence on January 16, 2012. With him, too, the court considered for a long time whether the death penalty should not be imposed.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Inge Günther: Massacre of a settler family. In: Frankfurter Rundschau . March 13, 2011, accessed March 14, 2011 .
  2. ^ ORF: Five Israeli settlers killed in the West Bank
  3. ^ Al-Jazeera: Five Israelis killed in the West Bank March 12, 2011
  4. ↑ Jerusalem Post: IDF hunting for perpetrators of brutal Itamar killings March 13, 2011
  5. ↑ KHALED ABU TOAMEH: "Itamar killings carried out by foreign workers". In: Jerusalem Post. March 14, 2011, accessed March 27, 2011 .
  6. ↑ Arutz Sheva: Gag on Itamar Investigation, But Maan News Prints Blatant Lies March 15, 2011
  7. ↑ "Abbas: Itamar attack was despicable, immoral and inhuman". In: Haaretz. March 14, 2011, accessed May 23, 2011 .
  8. ^ "Poll: One-third of Palestinians support Itamar massacre". In: Haaretz. April 6, 2011, accessed May 23, 2011 .
  9. ^ "Palestinian Public Opinion Poll No. 39". In: Palestinian Center for POLICY and SURVEY RESEARCH. April 10, 2011, archived from the original on May 14, 2011 ; accessed on May 23, 2011 (English).
  10. ^ "Palestinian Public Opinion Poll No. 39". In: The Harry S. Truman Institute for the Advancement of Peace. Archived from the original on April 17, 2011 ; accessed on May 23, 2011 (English).
  11. ↑ Anshel Pfeffer: Palestinian teenagers arrested over murder of 5 members of the Fogel family. In: Haaretz. April 18, 2011, archived from the original on April 24, 2011 ; accessed on April 24, 2011 .
  12. ↑ Israel court gives five life sentences to one of Fogel family murderers , Ha-Aretz on September 14, 2011
  13. ↑ IDF expected to seek death penalty for killers of Fogel family , Ha-Aretz
  14. ↑ [IDF court gives Palestinian five life sentences for Itamar murders], Ha-Aretz on January 16, 2011