The 2005 Shilo shooting was the murder of four
Palestinian
Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine.
*: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...
laborer
A laborer ( or labourer) is a person who works in manual labor typed within the construction industry. There is a generic factory laborer which is defined separately as a factory worker. Laborers are in a working class of wage-earners in whic ...
s in the
West Bank
The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
on 17 August 2005. Israeli driver Asher Weisgan killed the men in an effort to derail the
Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip
In 2005, Israel disengaged from the Gaza Strip by dismantling all 21 Israeli settlements there. As part of this process, four Israeli settlements in the West Bank were dismantled as well. The disengagement was executed unilaterally: Israeli au ...
.
Shooting
Asher Weisgan (born ) was a resident of
Shvut Rachel
Shvut Rachel () is a former Israeli settlement in the West Bank, retroactively designated a neighborhood of the settlement of Shilo, in the West Bank. Shvut Rachel sits between the Palestinian villages of Turmus Ayya, Qaryut and Jalud, part of ...
and a driver for Palestinian laborers near the West Bank
Israeli settlement
Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Israeli Jews, Jewish identity or ethni ...
of
Shilo, Mateh Binyamin
Shilo ( ') is an Israeli settlement in the northern West Bank. Located 28 miles (45 km) north of Jerusalem on Highway 60 (Israel–Palestine), Route 60 and organised as a religious community settlement (Israel), community settlement, it ...
.
On 17 August 2005, sometime after 5:00P.M., Weisgan used a knife
to steal a
security guard
A security guard (also known as a security inspector, security officer, factory guard, or protective agent) is a person employed by a government or private party to protect the employing party's assets (property, people, equipment, money, etc.) ...
's
M16 rifle
The M16 (officially Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of assault rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States Armed Forces, United States military. The original M16 was a 5.56×45mm NATO, 5.56×45mm automatic ...
,
and then killed four Palestinians before turning himself in to security. Weisgan was well-acquainted with the men,
having known and eaten with them for years.
The fatalities of the shooting were Mohammed Mansour (aged 48) and Bassam Tauase (aged 30), both from
Nablus
Nablus ( ; , ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 156,906. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a ...
; Halil Salah (aged 42) from
Qalqilya
Qalqilya or Qalqiliya () is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, which serves as the administrative center of the Qalqilya Governorate. The city had a population of 51,683 in 2017. Qalqilya is surrounded by the Israeli West Bank barrier, Israeli We ...
; and Osama Moussa Tawafsha (aged 33) from
Sanjil. Another man, Ruhi Qassam, was only wounded by Weisgan.
Saying he had no regrets about his actions,
Weisgan had wanted to spur an Arab reprisal, thereby engaging the
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
, and preventing the further removal of
Israelis
Israelis (; ) are the Israeli citizenship law, citizens and nationals of the Israel, State of Israel. The country's populace is composed primarily of Israeli Jews, Jews and Arab citizens of Israel, Arabs, who respectively account for 75 percen ...
from their homes in the
Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...
and northern
West Bank
The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
(as part of the
Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip
In 2005, Israel disengaged from the Gaza Strip by dismantling all 21 Israeli settlements there. As part of this process, four Israeli settlements in the West Bank were dismantled as well. The disengagement was executed unilaterally: Israeli au ...
).
Trial
Weisgan was convicted of
murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
.
On 27 September 2006, Weisgan was sentenced by the
Jerusalem District Court
The Jerusalem District Court () is located in the Jerusalem District of Israel. It was originally established by the Mandatory Palestine government and has continued its operations under the judicial system of the State of Israel since its establ ...
to pay
restitution
Restitution and unjust enrichment is the field of law relating to gains-based recovery. In contrast with damages (the law of compensation), restitution is a claim or remedy requiring a defendant to give up benefits wrongfully obtained. Liability ...
of ,
and to four
back-to-back life sentences
In judicial practice, back-to-back life sentences, also called consecutive life sentences, are two or more consecutive life sentences given to a convicted felon. This practice is used to ensure the felon will never be released from prison.
This ...
plus twelve years. According to
Israeli human rights groups, convictions were rare for Israelis who commit crimes in the West Bank.
Imprisoned in
Ayalon Prison,
Weisgan died from
suicide by hanging
Suicide by hanging is the intentional killing of oneself (suicide) via suspension from an anchor-point such as an overhead beam or hook, by a rope or cord or by jumping from a height with a noose around the neck.
Hanging is often considered to ...
in his
cell
Cell most often refers to:
* Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life
* Cellphone, a phone connected to a cellular network
* Clandestine cell, a penetration-resistant form of a secret or outlawed organization
* Electrochemical cell, a de ...
on 22 December 2006.
See also
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shiloh shooting
2005 mass shootings in Asia
2005 murders in Asia
21st-century mass murder in Palestine
anti-Palestinian sentiment in Israel
August 2005 crimes in Asia
August 2005 in Asia
deaths in police custody in Israel
history of Mateh Binyamin Regional Council
Israeli disengagement from Gaza
Israeli settler violence
Mass shootings in Palestine
terrorist incidents in the West Bank in 2005
he:טרור יהודי בישראל#אשר ויזגן