Killing of Rabbi Meir Avshalom Chai

Shavei Shomron is a village situated just west of Nablus in the northern West Bank.[3] Rabbi Meir Avshalom Chai, also rendered in some sources as Meir Chai or Meir Hai, lived there with his family at the time of the attack.[3][4] The attack occurred on the road between Einav and Shavei Shomron, where he was shot from ambush while traveling.[1]

In the period preceding the attack, the Israeli military had removed several roadblocks on West Bank roads as a goodwill gesture toward the Palestinians. Residents of Shavei Shomron later told IDF Shomron Brigade Commander Colonel Itzik Bar that the decision had left them feeling insecure and asked that the roadblocks be restored.[5]

On December 24, 2009, Rabbi Meir Avshalom Chai was driving his own vehicle near Nablus when gunmen carried out a drive-by ambush.[1][2] A report identifies the assailants as three members of a Fatah and Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades cell.[1] Chai, who was 45 years old and the father of seven children, was killed in the attack.[4][3]

An Israeli police forensics laboratory later determined that an M-16 rifle seized from Palestinian terrorists during a subsequent Nablus raid was compatible with bullet casings recovered at the murder scene. The rifle belonged to Anan Sabah, whom Ynet identified as a Tanzim member.[5] A police official explained that individual weapons leave distinctive marks on ammunition, and Ynet reported that the laboratory findings were admissible in court.[5]

Accounts differ slightly on the timing of the Israeli operation. The U.S. Department of State reported that the General Security Service and the IDF killed three terrorists reportedly responsible for Chai's death the day after the shooting and that all three had previously been held on terrorism charges in Israeli prisons.[2] A separate report states that two days after the attack, IDF forces entered the casbah in Nablus to arrest the cell; the three men refused to surrender and were killed during an exchange of fire.[1]

One of the cell members, Anan Sabah, had been released from an Israeli prison under a 2007 amnesty arrangement with the Palestinian Authority, under which Israel agreed not to pursue Palestinian gunmen who committed to laying down their arms.[5] The Intelligence Heritage report states that the three received a mass funeral in Nablus and that Palestinian media described their deaths as an "execution."[1]

On December 4, 2020, Israeli security forces arrested Muayad al-Alfi in Nablus on suspicion of having aided in the 2009 killing.[6]

IDF Shomron Brigade Commander Colonel Itzik Bar visited Shavei Shomron following the killing. Residents said they felt insecure following the army's removal of roadblocks and asked that the roadblocks be restored. One resident criticized Bar's demeanor as condescending and said he departed after less than half an hour.[5]

Approximately one week after the attack, around 200 residents from Shavei Shomron and Einav established an unauthorized outpost on a hill overlooking the murder site. They said they intended to create a regional Torah center dedicated to Chai's memory and held a memorial ceremony at the location.[7] The IDF stated that it had not authorized the outpost. Shomron Regional Council head Gershon Mesika described the proposed Torah center as "a proper response to the despicable murder," and the settlers maintained that the designated land belonged to Einav.[7]

In August 2012, Fatah's Nablus branch sponsored a youth football championship whose title listed Raed Al-Sarkaji, Anan Subh, Ghassan Abu Sharakh, and Haitham Al-Naana.[8] Palestinian Media Watch characterized the tournament as having been named for three terrorists who murdered Rabbi Meir Chai. Its account states that the closing ceremony included a moment of silence and the recitation of Surat Al-Fatihah in memory of the men, who were described as "heroic Martyrs."[8]

Palestinian Media Watch documented the tournament in two 2013 reports, one prepared for Canadian Parliament and another examining U.S. and other foreign funding of the Palestinian Authority.[4][8]

Published accounts vary in their transliteration of the victim's name and description of the location. The U.S. Department of State uses Rabbi Meir Avshalom Chai and places the shooting near Nablus, while the Jewish Virtual Library uses Rabbi Meir Chai and describes it as occurring near his home in Shavei Shomron.[2][3] Ynet uses both Meir Avshalom Hai and Avshalom Meir Hai.[5][7]

The sources also differ slightly on whether the operation against the suspected cell occurred one or two days after the killing.[1][2] In addition, the Palestinian Media Watch football-tournament report characterizes the event as honoring three terrorist murderers but reproduces a tournament title containing four names; the title by itself therefore does not establish that all four men participated in the killing.[8]