The Israel Defense Forces on Saturday found the body of a 14-year-old Israeli who went missing while shepherding in the West Bank a day earlier, as renewed clashes were reported between settlers and Palestinians.
Jerusalem resident Benjamin Achimeir was murdered in a terror attack, the IDF and Shin Bet security agency said in a joint statement.
Amid violent clashes on Saturday afternoon by settler extremists with Palestinians after the body was found, with the Palestinian Authority news agency reporting one Palestinian shot in the head and critically injured, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appealed to the public not to hinder the work of the security forces in apprehending the murderers and maintaining security.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant issued a similar plea, but also specifically warned the public: “Revenge attacks will make it harder for our forces in their mission. Do not take the law into your own hands.”According to the IDF, Achimeir set out in the early morning hours of Friday from a farm near the outpost of Malachei Shalom to go shepherding. Hours later, the sheep returned to “Gal Farm” without him.
Malachei Shalom is located near the West Bank town of al-Mughayyir, northeast of Ramallah.
Achimeir’s body was spotted on Saturday morning by a drone operated by the Border Defense Corps’ 636th Combat Intelligence Collection unit, close to the farm where he initially went missing.
The murder was believed to have been carried out by Palestinian terrorists, and taken place in the late morning hours or early afternoon of Friday, according to an initial investigation.
