BICOM

Israeli and Palestinian security officials met Sunday night to coordinate the investigation into the killing of an Israeli man early Sunday morning by PA security forces.  The man, Ben-Yosef Livnat, was killed in the area of Joseph’s Tomb, near Nablus in the West Bank. Livnat died after Palestinian policemen fired at vehicles carrying ultra-Orthodox Jews planning to pray at the tomb. The visit, according to media reports, had not been coordinated in advance with either the Israeli or Palestinian security forces.  Four other Israelis were wounded in the incident.

A senor IDF officer quoted in Haaretz said that the incident represented a “problem in communication between the two sides. The cars broke through the checkpoint and the officers fired in the air first. They didn’t have to continue shooting at them, but we can’t say there was a premeditated attempt to harm them.” Joseph’s Tomb, which is situated close to the Balata refugee camp, has long been a point of potential friction. Improved security relations between Israel and the PA in recent years, however, had served to some degree to alleviate tensions, with the site now open to all worshippers, at specific times and subject to prior coordination.

A statement released by Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office said, “Prime Minister Netanyahu sharply condemns the murder of Ben-Yosef Livnat and demands that the PA take tough steps against the perpetrators of this criminal act against Jews who were on their way to pray.”