On 23 August 2019, 17-year-old Israeli Rina Shnerb was killed by a roadside bomb while hiking with her father, Rabbi Eitan Shnerb, and brother Dvir near

Dolev Dolev ( he, דולב, דֹּלֶב) is an Israeli settlement organized as a community settlement in the West Bank. Located north-west of Jerusalem, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. In it had a population of ...

, an

Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...

in the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

; her father and brother were wounded. Shnerb's funeral was held in Lod on 23 August.

Background

The murder took place near the spring of Ein Bubin, close to the Palestinian village of

Deir Ibzi Deir Ibzi ( ar, دير إبزيع) is a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, located west of Ramallah in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 2,069 inh ...

, whose lower lands near the spring area are abandoned because they are denied access save for two or three days a year. Springs, in particular, are flash-points in the conflict between Israelis settlers and the local Palestinian villagers in the

Israeli-occupied West Bank The Israeli occupation of the West Bank began on 7 June 1967, when Israeli forces captured and occupied the territory (including East Jerusalem), then occupied by Jordan, during the Six-Day War, and continues to the present day. The status of ...

, with, according to Dror Ektes, over 60 springs so far seized in the past 10 years, and thereupon reserved for Jewish use only. According to

Amira Hass Amira Hass ( he, עמירה הס; born 28 June 1956) is an Israeli journalist and author, mostly known for her columns in the daily newspaper ''Haaretz'' covering Palestinian affairs in the West Bank and Gaza, where she has lived for almost th ...

, the site is one of nine in an area where, over three decades, the settlements of

and Nahliel, and illegal

Israeli outpost In Israeli law, an outpost ( he, מאחז, ''Ma'ahaz'' lit. "a handhold") is an unauthorized or illegal Israeli settlement within the West Bank, constructed without the required authorization from the Israeli government in contravention of Israel ...

s between them, have seized control over some 3,700 acres of Palestinian land.

Arrest of suspects and trial

In the aftermath, Israeli forces arrested three

PFLP The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine ( ar, الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين, translit=al-Jabhah al-Sha`biyyah li-Taḥrīr Filasṭīn, PFLP) is a secular Palestinian Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist an ...

members allegedly responsible, one of whom was hospitalized with his life in danger after interrogation using "exceptional means" by

Shin Bet The Israel Security Agency (ISA; he, שֵׁירוּת הַבִּיטָּחוֹן הַכְּלָלִי; ''Sherut ha-Bitaẖon haKlali''; "the General Security Service"; ar, جهاز الأمن العام), better known by the acronym Shabak ( he, ...

. On 5 March 2020, the

Israeli Defense Force The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branch ...

destroyed the homes of two suspected perpetrators in the

Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ar, رام الله, , God's Height) is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank that serves as the ''de facto'' administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusale ...

area.

Aftermath

Bezalel Smotrich Bezalel Yoel Smotrich (, born 27 February 1980) is an Israeli lawyer and far-right politician. The leader of the Religious Zionist Party, he previously served as a Knesset member for Yamina. Biography Bezalel Smotrich was born in Haspin, a re ...

Yamina Yamina or Yemina (; ) is an Israeli political alliance of right-wing parties that originally included the New Right and the Union of Right-Wing Parties (a union of The Jewish Home and Tkuma). The current incarnation of the alliance include ...

called for the annexation of the West Bank in response to Shnerb's killing.

Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...

praised the attack, and Islamic Jihad called it a "natural response", while the

Palestinian Authority The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; ar, السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية '), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine,

said it was likely the work of a "highly organized cell" that posed a threat to the Palestinians as well as Israelis. On 21 April 2020, eight months after the murder, which was

Yom HaShoah Yom HaZikaron laShoah ve-laG'vurah ( he, יום הזיכרון לשואה ולגבורה, , lit=Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day), known colloquially in Israel and abroad as Yom HaShoah (יום השואה) and in English as Holocaust Reme ...

, Rina's mother gave birth to a girl. Her parents considered naming the baby Rina but decided that "Rina is still with us in spirit", and gave the newly-born a different name. Palestinian villagers have so far resisted efforts to take over the Ein Bubin spring and can still access it. The father, an

IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces * Irish Defence Forces * Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 * Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations * Israeli Diving Federation * Interac ...

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

military chaplain A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations. Although the term ''cha ...

, said that his message to the murderers is "we are here and we are strong and we will prevail". As a reaction to the attack, Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation

Sigrid Kaag Sigrid Agnes Maria Kaag (; born 2 November 1961) is a Dutch diplomat and politician, serving as List of Ministers of Finance of the Netherlands, Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands, First Deputy Prime Minister in the ...

temporarily halted aid payments given to the

Union of Agricultural Work Committees The Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) is a Ramallah based Palestinian non-profit organization that was established in 1986 to improve the performance and professionalism of Palestinian farmers. The Union also aims to help Palestinian ...

, an organisation which paid salaries to the perpetrators. In April 2022, a new spring in the

Jordan Valley The Jordan Valley ( ar, غور الأردن, ''Ghor al-Urdun''; he, עֵמֶק הַיַרְדֵּן, ''Emek HaYarden'') forms part of the larger Jordan Rift Valley. Unlike most other river valleys, the term "Jordan Valley" often applies just to ...

was dedicated to Shnerb.

Notes

Citations

Sources