Amazingly, after months of violent protests against the security perimeter fence, the residents of the village of Na’alin, home to some 5,200 people, are accusing the IDF in the shooting death of a 11-year-old boy during another stormy protest by villagers, whom are usually supported by left-wing Israelis and foreigners.

More astounding is the fact that the IDF has ordered an investigation into the “shooting death” when the villagers refuse to turn over the body of the alleged victim for a pathological exam and/or autopsy. There is no body, no bullet, no forensic evidence, but the IDF is now running around investigating who fired the deadly bullet.

A preliminary border police internal investigation reveals that no one fired the bullet and border police are at least bold enough to question if the child died as a result of gunfire or perhaps something else, perhaps an illness.

There have been documented cases in the past when Israeli security forces were blamed in the deaths of Arabs, again without having a body or forensic evidence, only to learn later that the entire matter never occurred. There is the famous film footage from Gaza where we see the dead being carted off following a rocket attack, only to park down the road and miraculously get out of the ambulance. This correspondent was involved in such a case in the late 1980s, but at the time, the IDF division commander closed the case because the Arabs would not turn over the body of the alleged victim.

The residents of Na’alin, located very close to Chasmonaim and Modi’in are only taking their cue from Israel, learning to use Israel’s apologetic policies to their advantage.

In the Wednesday Yediot Achronot article (Page 9) for example, the village is portrayed as a quaint township which until recently lived in peace and harmony with its Jewish neighbors and the poor inhabitants were compelled to begin protesting after Israel brutally expropriated land for the security fence. According to Yediot, since last May, the villagers held 63 protests, when in actuality; the number is probably closer to several times that. The protests according to the report, quoting townsfolk, are always peaceful.

In a side note, in Tuesday’s peaceful protest, a border policeman was injured in his face with a rock, perhaps thrown by another border policeman since the town in never violent.

In the meantime, according to Na’alin residents, a boy is being buried and according to the IDF, an investigation is underway.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)