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Last update - 13:39 29/09/2008
Israel Police: Settlers were not behind Palestinian teen's death
By Jonathan Lis, Avi Issacharoff, Nadav Shragai, Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondents, and The Associated Press
Tags: Palestinians, Israel News 

Israel Police on Monday said a Palestinian shepherd found dead in the West Bank late Saturday was killed in an accidental explosion, not by settlers.

Yihya Atta Bani Minya, 18, had been missing from his hometown of Akrabeh since Saturday afternoon. He was found dead near Gitit, in the Jordan Valley.

Neighbors and relatives of the teenager had accused extremist settlers of killing him, and police looked into that possibility. But spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld said forensics experts determined the shepherd was killed after he picked up an unexploded shell that detonated in his hands.
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Rosenfeld said the shepherd's body suffered shrapnel wounds, and there were no signs the shepherd was shot.

Jordan Valley settlers on Sunday rejected the claim that Minya was killed by one of them, and Dubi Tal, head of the Jordan Valley Regional Council, said the settlers were cooperating with the police investigation.

According to Tal, Palestinian accusations that local settlers murdered the shepherd were intended to de-legitimize Jewish settlement in the Jordan Valley.

"It's nice that they've also turned us into 'settlers' and added us to the band of assassins," Tal said. "But inquiries we conducted in our communities revealed that no one heard any shots and no one knows anything about the incident."

There has been a recent spike in settler attacks on Palestinians, and the shepherd's death had raised fears of new settler violence.

Related articles:
  • Palestinian shepherds: Masked settlers beat us with clubs
  • Gun-toting settlers slaughtered my donkey, Palestinian shepherd says
  • Settlers deny involvement in shooting death of West Bank shepherd
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      1.   An unexploded shell...thats life? 15:44  |  Fritz T. 29/09/08
      2.   Our Police- The ONLY honourable civilian institution left 16:06  |  Arie 29/09/08
      3.   Now we know, it wasn`t Jews that killed him 16:36  |  * BEN JABO 29/09/08
      4.   And the bullet wounds? 16:54  |  Murray 29/09/08
      5.   I said it could not have been religious settlers 17:22  |  Jackie 29/09/08
      6.   #1 Fritz T. Unexploded ordnance is death 17:27  |  * BEN JABO 29/09/08
      7.   2. Arie, I`d call them a lot of things, after Amona etc, 17:36  |  Harvey 29/09/08
      8.   Next Steps 17:44  |  Dave Duncan 29/09/08
      9.   An unexploded shell. Who may have put that there? 18:31  |  Saenger 29/09/08
      10.   Thanks to Police Forensic Unit. 18:48  |  Stephen. 29/09/08
      11.   Getting the Story Straight 19:06  |  Mark of Lewiston 29/09/08
      12.   #7 Saenger - Ill start with the end of your nonsense 19:16  |  * BEN JABO 29/09/08
      13.   #8 next step - learn before you speak 20:14  |  Kate 29/09/08
      14.   Where are the apologies 20:50  |  Gee 29/09/08
      15.   murray in milan-who are these `other` sources 21:59  |  Arie 29/09/08
      16.   ben 22:34  |  dave duncan 29/09/08
      17.   You Mean A "Work Accident"??? 23:29  |  Baruch Gold 29/09/08
      18.   #16 2ND TRY Dave Duncan - Do us both a fabor 05:35  |  * BEN JABO 30/09/08
      19.   Kate in Jerusalem`s post 08:28  |  Victor` 30/09/08
      20.   Follow up on Kaate`s post 08:36  |  Victor` 30/09/08
      21.   Widely reported, Arie 11:36  |  Murray 30/09/08
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