September 28, 2004

The PHRMG is concerned about continuing settler attacks on Palestinians: West Bank Taxi driver shot dead by Israeli settler

On Monday, 27 Sept 2004 an Israeli settler from Elon Moreh settlement near Nablus shot dead a Palestinian Taxi driver who was ferrying passengers to a nearby Palestinian town.

The passengers, who witnessed the incident, gave the following account of the incident:

Mustafa Jubara, aged 41, was driving the passengers in his Taxi to Beit Furik. Due to a roadblock on the street he had to turn his vehicle around. On his way back, an Israeli settler standing next to a car signaled him to stop. When the driver stopped and rolled down the window, the settler fired three bullets at him from a distance of two meters. Mustafa Jubara died in the car.

The passengers took the car with Jubara’s body to Beit Furik checkpoint in order to report the killing to the Border Police and the Israeli army. They say the police only reacted when told that the man was shot by a settler and were given the license number of the settler’s car. Later on Monday the accused settler was arrested in the Elon Moreh settlement.

The passengers reported, that when they asked the settler why he had shot the man, he replied: “It doesn’t matter. He’s only a Palestinian.”

The arrested settler’s version, driver Mustafa Jubara had tried to force him off the road, to which he responded by firing his gun at the Palestinian.

The PHRMG is concerned about the serious and continuing problem of settler violence against Palestinians. Mustafa Jubara is the 26th Palestinian killed by Israeli settlers since the beginning of the “Al-Aqsa” Intifada in September 2000. It is the first fatal incident of settler violence in 2004.

The principle cause for ongoing settler violence is the reluctance or even refusal of the Israeli army and law enforcement agencies to intervene in ongoing incidents of violence, to investigate in cases of settler crimes, and to bring settler offenders to justice.

The PHRMG demands that the case of the killing of Mustafa Jubara be carefully investigated, that all testimonies of witnesses be taken, and that the offender be brought to justice accordingly.

The PHRMG demands that the Israeli army and law enforcement agencies equally protect Israeli and Palestinian civilians under their control, which is their legal duty under International and Israeli law.

The Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group (PHRMG) is a Palestinian, independent, non-governmental organization working to end human rights violations committed against Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem, regardless of those responsible.  The members of the Monitoring Group believe that the strength of democracy and civil society in Palestinian society will be determined by the Palestinian people, through their defense or neglect of human rights.

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