Israeli settler 'gets away' with murder

His release, ordered by the Kfar Sava court on Tuesday, sheds light on the stunning leniency adopted by the Israeli justice system toward Jews involved in serious crimes against non-Jews.

The court, presided by a religious Jew, reportedly rejected a police request to extend the remand of Yehosua Elitzur, from the West Bank settlement of Itamar, until the end of the legal proceedings.

On Monday, Elitzur killed a Palestinian driver, claiming the victim tried to run him off the road.

Eyewitness accounts

Palestinian eyewitnesses testified that Elitzur killed Salah Jebara, a father of eight children, in cold blood and for no reason other than wanting to kill a Palestinian.

"The settler parked his car on the right side…and stood in the middle of the road. When Salah Jibara arrived and slowed down thinking that the settler needed help, the settler aimed his M-16 at him, killing him on the spot," said Muhammed Shatiyya.

"Then the settler began praising God for killing him."

When a Palestinian passer-by asked why he shot him, the setttler said ..."It doesn't matter, he is only a Palestinian," according to the Jerusalem-based Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group which has investigated the incident.

Murder

According to another Palestinian eyewitness Ahmad Shatiyya

"The settler simply was waiting for any Palestinian motorist to come so that he could kill him…even if Jebara had not stopped, the settler would have killed him claiming that he had tried to run him over…"

"The man was out to kill an Arab…it is as simple as that."

Shatiyya and other Palestinians in the area tried in vain to save Jebara's life.

"He lost consciousness and we tried to resuscitate him. We shouted to the settler to call an ambulance, but he said 'praise to God…he is dead'…and left"

Ever since the start of the Intifada four years ago, Jewish settlers, affiliated with the National-Zionist movement known as Gush Emunim, have murdered dozens of Palestinians, including children.

Edicts

Earlier in September, several influential Orthodox rabbis and Talmudic sages in Israel issued religious edicts allowing Jews to kill Palestinian civilians and non-combatants even if they posed no threat to Jews.

The rabbis apparently relied on a Talmudic injunction stipulating that in war time, Jews are enjoined to kill enemy civilians.

The settlers often concoct pretexts for the purpose of justifying or at least extenuating the severity of their acts.

Normally, Israeli courts give them the benefit of the doubt and reduce the severity of the charges against them from murder to manslaughter in which case the killers spend a few months or a few weeks in jail before they are freed.

Palestinians convicted of killing Jews, even by mistake, are usually convicted for murder and imprisoned for life. Moreover, their family homes are demolished and their belongings are destroyed by Israeli bulldozers.

Aljazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/5CA019C0-7C35-461D-A238-8F5C40E80D39.htm