Autopsy conducted on body of 17-year old shepherd Palestinians claimed was
shot by settlers reveals he was apparently killed upon picking up grenade.
MK Ariel: Leftists, government officials irresponsible for blaming settlers
prior to report
Efrat Weiss YNET Published: 09.29.08, 12:27 / Israel News
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3603685,00.html

The Bedouin shepherd whose body was found Sunday near the community of Gitit
in the Jordan Rift Valley was apparently killed by the explosion of a 40 mm
grenade, a police autopsy has found.

The authorities published their findings Monday in a forensics report
stating that the youth expired after losing massive quantities of blood, due
to a wounded artery in his neck.

Police postulated that the shepherd found the unexploded grenade - of the
type fired by an M-203 launcher - and picked it up, which caused it to
detonate. Palestinians had initially claimed that the 17-year old youth,
Yehie Ata Bani Minia, had been shot by settlers.

His body was found by his family on Saturday night in an open field near
Gitit. On Sunday police arrived at the scene and launched an investigation
into the matter. Officers had difficulty determining cause of death as no
cartridges or other evidence of a shooting was present at the scene, despite
reports of a loud blast.

The body was transferred to the Abu Kabir Institute of Forensic Medicine and
the investigation continued. Bedouin witnesses residing in the area were
interrogated, as police attempted to find out where the boy may have been
shot. Later the remains of the grenade were found at the scene of the
youth's death.

MK Uri Ariel (National Union-NRP) responded to the police findings and said,
"For two days leftists, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Minister Haim Ramon and
Defense Minister Ehud Barak have been concocting connections between the
pipe bomb at Prof. Sternhell's home, the Rabin assassination, and the death
of the Bedouin near Gitit - and blaming the settlers for violence and
unlawful acts.

"Media correspondents and editors were quick to verbally attack 300,000
people in their usual manner, prior to a police investigation.

"The Israeli Left is acting irresponsibly, time after time. It identifies
totally with the enemy's claims, and when it discovers an opportunity to
harm its political rivals it does so without a second thought."