2005 Shilo shooting
Part of the Israeli disengagement from Gaza
LocationNear Shilo, West Bank
Date17 August 2005 (2005-08-17)
After 5:00 P.M. (UTC+02:00)
TargetPalestinians
WeaponM16 rifle
Deaths4
PerpetratorAsher Weisgan
MotiveDisruption of the
Israeli disengagement

The 2005 Shilo shooting was the murder of four Palestinian laborers in the West Bank on 17 August 2005. Israeli driver Asher Weisgan killed the men in an effort to derail the Israeli disengagement from Gaza.

Shooting

A father of two children,[1] Asher Weisgan (born in 1967 or 1968) was a resident of Shvut Rachel and a driver for Palestinian laborers near the West Bank Israeli settlement of Shilo, Mateh Binyamin.[2] On 17 August 2005, sometime after 5:00 P.M., Weisgan used a knife[3] to steal a security guard's M16 rifle,[1] and then killed four Palestinians before turning himself in to security. Weisgan was well-acquainted with the men,[2] having known and eaten with them for years.[4]

The fatalities of the shooting were Mohammed Mansour (aged 48) and Bassam Tauase (aged 30), both from Nablus; Halil Salah (aged 42) from Qalqilya; and Osama Moussa Tawafsha (aged 33) from Sanjil, near Ramallah. Another man, Ruhi Qassam, was only wounded by Weisgan.[3]

Saying he had no regrets about his actions,[5] Weisgan had wanted to spur an Arab reprisal, thereby engaging the Israel Defense Forces, and preventing the further removal of Israelis from their homes in the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank (as part of the Israeli disengagement from Gaza).[6]

Trial

Weisgan was convicted of murder.[1]

On 27 September 2006, Weisgan was sentenced by the Jerusalem District Court[2] to pay restitution of US$236,000 (equivalent to $342,586 in 2022),[6] and to four back-to-back life sentences plus twelve years. According to Israeli human rights groups, convictions were rare for Israelis who commit crimes in the West Bank.[5] Imprisoned in Ayalon Prison,[1] Weisgan died from suicide by hanging in his cell on 22 December 2006.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Ben Tzur, Raanan (23 December 2006). המחבל היהודי משילה תלה את עצמו עם התפילין [The Jewish terrorist shiloh hung himself with tefillin] (in Hebrew). Ynet. Archived from the original on 26 August 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2020. אשר וייזגן, שנידון לארבעה מאסרי עולם לאחר שרצח ארבעה פלסטינים לפני ההתנתקות, תלה את עצמו בתאו שבכלא איילון, באמצעות תפילין. משירות בתי הסוהר נמסר כי ביקש לעבור מאגף שומרי המצוות לתא חדש - ושם התאבד. אתמול נפגש עם עובד סוציאלי, שסיפר כי לא גילה נטיות אובדניות
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Jewish terrorist commits suicide in jail". The Jerusalem Post. 22 December 2006. ISSN 0021-597X. Archived from the original on 28 October 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2020. Asher Weisgan, sentenced to 4 life terms for shooting Palestinian civilians, found hanging in cell.
  3. 1 2 Barkat, Amiram; Singer, Roni; Harel, Amos (18 August 2005). "Man who killed 4 Palestinians: I hope someone kills Sharon". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 1 October 2007. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  4. ↑ Asser, Martin (18 August 2005). "Settler shooting shatters community". Jerusalem: BBC News. Archived from the original on 19 July 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2020. The place where the Tawafsha brothers died after a day's work at the Shilo Jewish settlement bears witness to the settlers' futile efforts to save their lives.
  5. 1 2 "Life sentences for W Bank killer". BBC News. 27 September 2006. Archived from the original on 26 July 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  6. 1 2 "Court Sentences Samaria Jew To Life In Prison". Arutz Sheva. 27 September 2006. Archived from the original on 16 March 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
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