Death of Binyamin Meisner

On 24 February 1989, Nablus Palestinians dropped a cement block on the head of Binyamin Meisner, killing him. Binyamin Meisner (also spelled Benjamin Meisner, Ben Meisner, Benny Meisner, Benjamin Mizner, or Biniamín Meisner) was serving as a staff sergeant in the Israel Defense Forces.[1][2] He was the fifth Israeli soldier killed in the First Intifada.[3][4]

Background

During the First Intifada, violent demonstrations took place in Nablus after a funeral cortege was fired on by Israeli troops on December 18, 1988. Two Palestinians were killed, and another eight were killed when Israeli put down the resulting protests. The city was then place under a curfew for six days. Over 31 Palestinians were killed and a thousand wounded from Israeli fire, directed at crowds, by January 16, 1989. [5]

Incident

Meisner, a 25-year-old paratrooper on reserve duty,[6] was killed when a concrete block was thrown at him from a building in Nablus, as he took part in a patrol attempting to disperse Palestinians demonstrating in Nablus's open air market.[7][8] Meisner's skull was crushed by the impact.[9]

Journalist Stephen Franklin of the Chicago Tribune described Nablus, where Meisner was killed, as one of the "most militant" towns in the West Bank, writing that "rocks, stones and huge hunks of metal" were regularly "dropped" on Israeli soldiers "from rooftops as they patrol alleys covered with freshly painted slogans urging on the uprising."[10] The week before Meisner was killed, Israeli troops shot "a young Arab who was poised to throw a concrete block down on them from a roof in the market in Nablus on Thursday night."[11]

Meisner was from the town of Kiryat Tivon.[12] He had immigrated to Israel from Argentina with his family as a child.[12][13] He was buried in Kiryat Tivon.[13]

Perpetrators

Six Arabs were tried by an Israeli court for murder and convicted in July 1989.[14] Ommar Mohammad Kalabuna (Amar Muhamed Khanis Kalbune), a 19-year-old alleged to have participated in the killing was himself killed in clashes between Arabs and Israelis in Nablus in September 1989.[9][15] Ibrahim Taktuk and Samir Na’anish (Samir Al-Nanish), a "Fatah activist",[16] were tried and sentenced to prison for life. Their houses were demolished by the Israeli military,[17] as was the house from which the concrete block that killed Meisner was taken, even though according to B'Tselem inhabitants were not involved in the incident.[18]

Prosecutors argued for life sentences on the grounds that murdering Meisner by dropping a large object onto him was a more heinous crime than the killing of Esther Ohana by throwing rocks at the car in which she was riding, a crime for which the perpetrators were sentenced to 11 to 13 years in prison.[19]

Samir Na’anish (Samir Al-Nanish; Samir Na’neesh) was released from prison in 2013.[20][21][22]

Taktuk Ibrahim (Taqtuq Lutfi Halma Ibrahim) was released from prison in December, 2013.[12][23][24]

Response to prisoner release

According to the official Palestinian Authority daily, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, the Palestinian Authority "honored" Samir Al-Nanish and his fellow released prisoners upon their arrival in Nablus with a "reception ceremony" attended by Fatah Central Committee Member Tawfiq Tirawi. Speaking at the ceremony Mahmoud Al-Aloul, a Fatah Central Committee Member, congratulated Al-Nanish and the other prisoners on their release.[25]

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas stated that none of the released West Bank prisoners would be sent to Gaza, although Israel claimed that the Palestinian Authority would confine some of the released prisoners to Gaza.[26] Abbas personally greeted 18 of the released prisoners in Ramallah, shaking hands with each and calling them, "our hero prisoners".[27]

Ibrahim's cousin, Hamza Taqtouq, told journalists that his cousin "and all the prisoners are our heroes... We are proud of them."[28]

The prisoner releases were controversial; demonstrations opposing them were held in Israel,[28][29][30][31] but the Israeli High Court rejected a petition intended to keep the militants prisoner.[28]

Commentary on incident

Stephen Flatow, writing in the Algemeiner Journal in 2014, described rocks thrown by Palestinian youth as "terrorist weapons", pointing out that 11 people have been killed by Palestinians throwing rocks at Israelis; he characterized stone-throwing by Palestinian youth acts of "attempted murder", pointing out that when a group of youths in Washington, D.C. threw rocks at passing cars, they were convicted of "assault with intent to murder", and "each sentenced to 40 years in prison".[12]

In her book, Conscience at War, psychology professor Ruth Linn relates a story told to her by an Israeli who chose to immigrate to Australia rather than to continue to serve in the army. According to the former soldier, he was patrolling during the First Intifada, near the spot where Meisner had been killed when he saw a 4-year-old child standing on a rooftop beside a concrete block that had been placed on the roof for the child to push onto the patrol as it passed. The soldier shouted at the child, causing him to push the block too soon, before the soldiers were underneath.[32]

Impact

According to the Los Angeles Times, this killing, along with an incident on the previous day in which Lebanese militiamen killed three Palestinian commandos attempting to enter Israel with the intention of carrying out attacks, derailed incipient reconciliation between Israel and the PLO.[33]

The city of Nablus was put under curfew for ten days as Israeli troops conducted house-to-house searches for Meisner's killers; the curfew was lifted after arrests were made.[13][34][35][36][37]

A group of 6 Arabs was convicted of the killing in July 1989.[14] Ommar Mohammad Kalabuna (Amar Muhamed Khanis Kalbune), a 19-year-old "said to have participated in the killing" was himself killed in clashes between Arabs and Israelis in Nablus in September, 1989.[9][15] Ibrahim Taktuk and Samir Na’anish (Samir Al-Nanish) were tried and sentenced to prison for life. Their houses were demolished by the Israeli military,[17][38] as was the house from which the concrete block that killed Meisner was thrown, even though its inhabitants were not involved in the incident.[18]

Samir Na’anish (Samir Al-Nanish; Samir Na’neesh) was released from prison in 2013.[20][21][22] Demonstrations in Israel protested against his release along with that of other Palestinians convicted of murder.[29][30]

Taktuk Ibrahim (Taqtuq Lutfi Halma Ibrahim) was released from prison in December, 2013.[12][23]

References
  1. Laub, Kerin (24 February 1989). "Soldier Killed by Cement Block". Associated Press. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  2. Meixler, Louis (27 February 1989). "Palestinian Teen-ager Wounded After Stabbing Soldier". Associated Press. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  3. Tolan, Sandy (2015). Children of the Stone. Bloomsbury. p. 344. ISBN 978-1608198139.
  4. Brinkley, Joel (7 May 1989). "Israel Mired in the West Bank". New York Times. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  5. Cathy Hartley, Paul Cossali, Survey of Arab-Israeli Relations, Routledge, (2002) 2nd ed. 2004 ISBN 978-1-135-35527-2 p.134
  6. Gradstein, Linda (5 March 1989). "Israeli Army Movie Prepares Troops For Duty On Gaza Strip". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  7. "Israeli Soldier Killed In West Bank Attack". New York Times. 25 February 1989. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  8. "An Israeli soldier was killed in the West Bank". Orlando Sentinel. 25 February 1989. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  9. "3 Palestinians Killed in Nablus, As Tide of Arab Murders Rises". JTA. 4 September 1989. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  10. Franklin (19 March 1989). "In Casbah, Warfare Not By The Rules". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  11. Lewis, Paul (18 February 2015). "U.S. Vetoes U.N. Measure on Arab Uprising". New York Times.
  12. Flatow, Stephen (1 January 2014). "Palestinian Terrorists' Forgotten Weapon: Murder by Stoning". Algeimeiner Journal. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  13. "Killing of Soldier in Nablus Signals Continuation of Unrest". JTA. 27 February 1989. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  14. "Hundreds Arrested in IDF Sweep Aimed at Crushing Uprising Command". JTA. 5 July 1989. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  15. Olster, Marjorie (2 September 1989). "Troops Kill Three Palestinians on West Bank". Associated Press. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  16. Harris, Ben (14 August 2013). "Who Israel Released". JTA. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  17. "Two Palestinians Get Life Sentence for Murder of Soldier in Nablus". JTA. 20 July 1989. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  18. Demolition and sealing of houses as a punitive measure in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip during the Intifada. B'Tselem, the Israel Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories. 1989. p. 19. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  19. "Two Palestinians Get Life Sentence for Murder of Soldier in Nablus". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 20 July 1989. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  20. Gur, Haviv Rettig (12 August 2013). "Among the terrorists to be released, the murderer of a Holocaust survivor". Times of Israel. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  21. "The 26 Palestinian prisoners due for release". Haaretz. 12 August 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  22. Abdullah, Asrul (12 August 2013). "Researcher Gives Statistics on Prisoners to be Released". MINA. Mi'raj Islamic News Agency. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  23. "El repudiable pasado de los terroristas excarcelados". Aurora. 1 January 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  24. Lempkowicz, Yosip (2 January 2014). "Israel Releases Palestinian Prisoners". Brussels Diplomatic. EIPA. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  25. "Prisoners". Al-Hayat Al-Jadida. 17 August 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  26. "Abbas: None of the freed Palestinian prisoners will be deported". Times of Israel. 11 August 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  27. staff (21 January 2014). "Abbas: Released Palestinian Murderers 'Hero Prisoners Who've Achieved Freedom'". Jewish Press. JTA, INN, JNS. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  28. "Israel frees 26 Palestinian prisoners". The Hindu. 31 December 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  29. "2 arrested at protest against Palestinian prisoner release". Times of Israel. 30 December 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  30. Hartman, Ben (13 August 2013). "Who are the Palestinian prisoners set for release by Israel?". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  31. Levick, Adam (31 December 2013). "What The Guardian Forgot to Mention About the Released Palestinian 'Prisoners'". Algeimer Journal. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  32. Linn, Ruth (2012). Conscience at War: The Israeli Soldier as a Moral Critic. SUNY Press. p. 161. ISBN 978-1438410982.
  33. Williams, Daniel (25 February 1989). "PLO Overtures to Israelis Offset by Violent Incidents". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  34. "100 Detainees Freed in Gaza, As Crime Rate Soars in Hebron". JTA. 7 March 1989. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  35. Franklin, Stephen (28 February 1989). "Group Says It Holds Missing Israeli Soldier". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  36. Rabin, Roni (9 March 1989). "Seven Palestinians Reported Shot". Associated Press. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  37. Meixler, Louis (27 February 1989). "Palestinian Attacks Israeli Border Police Officer". Associated Press. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  38. Labelle, G.G. (7 March 1989). "One Dead, More than 30 Wounded in Widespread Clashes". AP. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
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