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The killing of Rabbi Meir Hai was an attack carried out by Palestinian Fatah militants on 24 December 2009 in the West Bank.

Incident

Hai (also spelled Chai), a 45-year-old Israeli, was driving his minivan on Highway 57, between the Israeli settlements of Shavei Shomron (where he resided) and Einav. A car driven by militants overtook him and one of the militants in the car shot him in the head, apparently with an automatic weapon. Hai was pronounced dead at the scene by Magen David Adom paramedics.

While in 2002 and 2003, Palestinian drive-by shootings of Israeli settlers were almost common in the West Bank, Hai was the first person killed by Palestinian militants in the territory since 13 April 2009, when 13-year-old Shlomo Nativ was stabbed to death near his home in the Gush Etzion village of the Bat Ayin settlement.

According to an anonymous Israel Defense Forces officer, a week before the attack, Israel had removed a traffic-monitoring roadblock about 150 meters from where Hai was shot. The attackers apparently fled through the point where the roadblock previously stood, to the village of Asira al-Shamaliyah.

Perpetrators

The Imad Mughniyeh Group, a little-known affiliate of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party, claimed responsibility for the attack. The group said its members "withdrew from the area safely." It also warned of "a series of attacks to come."

The three militants involved in the killing were:

• Raed Sarkaji, a Tanzim operative who was released in January 2009 from an Israeli prison after serving a seven-year sentence on terror charges;
• Anan Subuh, an Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades operative pardoned by Israel as part of a 2007 deal, under which 400 Fatah militants handed in their weapons, promised to cease their terror activity and in return were assured that the IDF would stop pursuing them;
• Raghan Abu Sharah.

Initial statements

The Yesha Council stated that "the murderous shooting attack in Samaria is a direct result of the policy of lifting restrictions on the Palestinians, removal of necessary road blocks in Judea and Samaria and the transfer of the responsibility for security to those whose ranks produced many terrorists who murdered Jews. As in the case of similar incidents in the past, once again the gestures aimed at Abu Mazen carry a price tag of Jewish blood."

Israeli Interior Minister Eli Yishai, Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman, and Members of Knesset Yaakov Katz and Uri Ariel attended Hai's funeral. Yishai stated that "Hundreds and thousands of children are crying over the loss of the rabbi," referring to the Jewish learning institutes Hai had set up.

Israeli Member of Knesset Michael Ben-Ari, from the far-right National Union party, said that "the path of capitulation, the opening of arteries, the freeze and the release of prisoners that Netanyahu has brought down upon us signals to terrorists that Jewish blood is negligible. The terrorist probably thinks that he will be released in the next exchange."

Israeli response

On 26 December, IDF Duvdevan Unit and Nahshon Battalion troops conducted an operation in separate locations in Nablus to locate three of the Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades operatives who were determined by the Shin Bet to be behind the attack: Raghsan Abu Sharah, Raed a-Sarkaji and Anan Sabah. The fourth suspect reportedly turned himself in to Israeli authorities prior to the operation.

Short confrontations took place at the homes of Abu Sharah and a-Sarkaji. IDF forces used different methods including shots in the air in order to make the two surrender. Both refused, though Abu Sharah sent out his wife. In the third location, where Sabah was staying, a several-hour-long standoff included the firing of an antitank missile toward the house, in an attempt to force Sabah out. All three were shot dead by Israeli troops following their refusal to surrender.

An M-16 rifle seized from Sabah was later identified by a police forensics lab as the weapon used in the attack. Sabah had been released from an Israeli prison as part of the amnesty deal with the Palestinian Authority in 2007, in which Israel agreed not to hunt down Palestinian gunmen who agreed to lay down their arms.

Major Peter Lerner, spokesman for Israel’s Central Command stated that all three had been involved in anti-Israel violence in the past through activities in the Aksa Martyrs Brigades.

The following day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting: "I want to praise the Shin Bet and the IDF on the speedy operation against the cell which murdered Rabbi Meir Hai. Our policy against terrorism is clear. We will continue to respond aggressively – against any attack on Israeli citizens and against any firing of rockets or missiles at Israeli territory."

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad condemned the Israeli operation as an "assassination" and "an attempt to target the state of security and stability that the Palestinian Authority has been able to achieve."

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades threatened a quick response to the operation, stating: "This is a despicable ... We will not stand idly by and the holy warriors' blood will not be shed in vain. The enemy will see nothing but the language of blood and fire. It will pay for the crime … the response will be quick."

The shooting is cited in newspaper editorials demanding greater security for Israelis in the West Bank.

Palestinian Authority response

On 25 December, the Palestinian Authority stated that its security forces had rounded up, interrogated and released some 150 suspects in connection with the attack. According to an Israel Radio report, most of the suspects were residents of Tulkarem, and two of them were still being interrogated as of 25 December.

Sources in the IDF lauded the conduct of the Palestinian security establishment in its response to the killing of Hai, calling it "determined and impressive."

Fatah officials warned that the killing of its operatives could trigger a third intifada, which would be directed not against Israel but against the (Fatah-controlled) Palestinian Authority. During the funerals of the three men, thousands of Palestinians chanted slogans accusing the PA of collusion with Israel and calling for the dismantling of the PA. The funerals were described by a local journalist as "one of the biggest anti-Palestinian Authority demonstrations" in many years.

See also

• Palestinian drive-by shooting
• Bat Ayin ax attack
• Tapuah junction stabbing
• Palestinian political violence
• Civil defense in Israel

References

1. ^ Father of seven shot dead in West Bank terror attack, Jerusalem Post 25-12-2009
2. ^ Ethan Bronner, Israeli Military Kills 6 Palestinians, New York Times 26-12-2009
3. ^ IDF officer: Israel recently removed road block from site of fatal attack, Ha'aretz 24-12-2009
4. Israeli hurt in second West Bank road attack this week, Haaretz 28-12-2009
5. Analysis: Killers' identities heightens significance of Nablus op, Jerusalem Post 28-12-2009
6. ^ PA arrests, releases 150 attack suspects, Jerusalem Post 25-12-2009
7. Police identify gun seized in IDF operation as instrument of Chai's murder, Jerusalem Post 27-12-2009
8. ^ IDF lauds PA security establishment for conduct after Thursday shooting, Ynet News 26-12-2009
9. Rifle seized in Nablus raid linked to settler's murder, Ynet News 27-12-2009
10. PM praises IDF, Shin Bet for Nablus raid, Jerusalem Post 27-12-2009
11. Aksa Martyrs' Brigade slams IDF Nablus op, threatens to respond quickly, Jerusalem Post 26-12-2009
12. “Security is a Must,” editorial, September 3, 2010, Jerusalem Post.
13. Fatah warns of intifada against PA, Jerusalem Post 28-12-2009

• Israeli–Palestinian conflict
• 2009 in the Palestinian territories
• 2009 crimes
• Palestinian terrorism
• Terrorist incidents in 2009