Brazil Extraditing Israeli Settler Convicted Of Killing Palestinian
South America. Image by Google Earth
RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) — A German-Israeli settler who fled to Brazil after killing a Palestinian will be extradited to serve his sentence in the Jewish state.
Brazil’s Supreme Court decided unanimously on Wednesday to accede to an Israeli request to extradite Yehoshua Elitzur back to Israel to serve a prison sentence for killing Palestinian taxi driver Sael Jabara al-Shatiya in 2004.
According to the indictment against him, Elitzur flagged down Shatiya, who was driving toward him in a van on Route 557 near the Elon Moreh settlement. Armed with an M-16, Elitzur stood in the middle of the road and demanded the Palestinian halt and get out of the car. Shatiya did not stop where Elitzur demanded, continued driving and began to pull over further down the road on the shoulder, at which point Elitzur shot and killed him.
Elitzur, 46, claimed that he had acted in self-defense, and that Shatiya was trying to run him off the road, but witnesses at the scene denied this claim. He was initially accused of murder, but was convicted of manslaughter.
Elitzur, who also holds German citizenship, was placed under house arrest in the Itamar settlement and eventually convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison for murder. However, he was able to use his German passport and successfully board an airplane out of Israel. He was caught ten years later in Sao Paulo at his hideout, a kosher restaurant.
Hello, fellow Forward reader! I’m Joel Brown, a Forward reader and supporter for more than 15 years, and currently the chair of the board of directors.
I’m an avid Forward reader because it ticks so many of my essential boxes: excellent journalism, Jewish focus and diverse viewpoints. In today’s political climate, what I most appreciate is the Forward’s independence — made possible by the generosity of its membership.
The Forward is committed to bringing you unbiased, nuanced Jewish news. From my position as board chair, I see an exciting future as we expand our position as the definitive independent voice of contemporary American Judaism.
That’s why I’m paying it Forward, by matching $36,000 of reader gifts. It’s an investment in the Forward’s newsroom, to continue telling the American Jewish story with truth and independence.
— Joel Brown, Forward board chair
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
