Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced “a heinous crime” following the discovery, Saturday April 13, of the body of Benjamin Achimeir, 14 years old, an Israeli shepherd “murdered” in the occupied West Bank, where his disappearance the day before had triggered an outbreak of violence against the Palestinians. The teenager disappeared Friday morning while grazing his sheep near the Palestinian village of Al-Mughayyir, near Ramallah, some 500 meters from farms owned by Israeli settlers.
A vast manhunt was immediately launched by the army, and hundreds of civilians, including many settlers, fanned out into the surrounding hills and fields to try to find him. The boy’s body was located Saturday midday not far from his pastures and the Malachei HaShalom farms. “Benjamin Achimeir was assassinated in a terrorist attack”declared the army, the police and the domestic intelligence service, Shin Beth, in a press release.
Attacks by Israeli settlers
Israeli security forces are engaged “in the intensive pursuit of the despicable assassins and all those who collaborated with them”, assured Mr. Netanyahu in a statement sent to Agence France-Presse (AFP). The head of government also called “all Israeli citizens to allow the security forces to do their work without hindrance”without directly mentioning the armed settlers who have been attacking Palestinian villages in the region for twenty-four hours.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also warned the Israeli population against any “act of revenge”. “I appeal to the public, let the security forces act quickly in the hunt for terrorists. Acts of revenge will make the mission of our soldiers difficult”he wrote in a message on X.
Attacks on settlers continued on Saturday, with an AFP journalist on site reporting shootings and stone throwing targeting localities and vehicles traveling in the area. They have left at least one dead and around thirty injured, including many by gunfire, since Friday, according to the Palestinian Authority’s health ministry. The attackers fired live ammunition and set fire to dozens of houses and vehicles while residents responded with stone throwing. The Palestinian news agency WAFA also reported injuries to five Palestinians in the village of Abu Falah, near Ramallah, in a settler attack on Saturday.
At least 462 Palestinians in the West Bank killed since October 7, 2023
This violence occurs in a context of increased violence in the Palestinian territory since the start of the war between Israel and the Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip, on October 7, 2023. At least 462 Palestinians have been killed there by soldiers or settlers Israelis, according to the Palestinian Authority, which exercises partial administrative control over the West Bank.
The United Nations (UN) special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, urged on Friday “the UN to authorize the deployment of a protective presence” in the territories. “The Israeli army has amply demonstrated that it is unwilling or unable to accomplish this mission”did she say.
The war in the Gaza Strip was triggered by an unprecedented attack by Hamas on Israeli soil on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the death of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count. based on official Israeli figures. Israel launched a retaliatory military operation in Gaza which left 33,686 dead, mainly civilians, according to the Hamas health ministry in Gaza.