Yaron Gispan
Photo: Elisha Ben Kimon
Eli resident recognized as a terror victim after nine years
Yaron Gispan was found dead alongside his personal weapon in 2009; police ruled death a suicide, while his family insisted it was a terrorist attack; Defense Ministry committee finally decides to grant Gispan status of terror victim, criticizes police for handling of case.
A Defense Ministry committee recently decided to recognize the family of the late Yaron Gispan, a resident of Eli in the northern West Bank whose body was found with a bullet wound in 2009, as a victim of terrorism, overturning the police’s conclusion that the death was suicide, and declaring that he was murdered for nationalistic reasons.
In May 2009, after a long search, the body of Gispan, a married father of six from Eli, was found with signs of bullet wounds. The police stated that the fact that Gispan was shot using his own personal weapon and that his body was placed in a relatively isolated area was enough to conclude that it was a suicide.
Yaron Gispan (Photo: Elisha Ben Kimon)
From the outset, his widow Iris claimed that it was a terrorist attack. She spoke of a devoted husband to his children and that they did not encounter any significant financial difficulties. In addition, the Gispans had plans for the future—Iris was pregnant and Yaron planned to build vacation suites on a hill near Eli.
From then until about a month ago, the family ran a stubborn legal battle to gain recognition as victims of terrorism, until the commission's decision came a month ago.
In its decision, the committee explained the reasons for determining that this was in fact a nationalistic murder. They relate to details that arose from the scene, such as the fact that his cell phone was found five kilometers away and the hostile environment in which the body was found.
The committee also decided to give credence to findings from the murder of Rabbi Moshe Talbi, whose body was found in the same area: "The committee gives credence to existence of terrorists who murdered Rabbi Talbi in close proximity to the deceased's death, using his personal weapon and leaving it at the murder site, which seems to be methodical."
In addition, the committee criticized the police's conduct in investigating the incident: "The lack of evidentiary infrastructure (in the investigation of the murder) may have been due to investigative failures that the police also agree were present in this case, including failure to examine photographs that would indicate contact between the deceased's fingers and the pistol."
Yaron’s widow Iris responded, “I am glad that justice has finally been done. The injustice done to my family—which has been denied recognition and support by the state—and to the reputation of Yaron—which has been sullied—as well as the harm to the public’s security being that the killers were not hunted for nine years, has been corrected.
“I find a small measure of comfort in that at least for the first time, this year, Yaron's name will appear on the list of those killed in hostilities, on Memorial Day.”
Attorney Ehud Green, a former Shin Bet agent who specializes in representing victims of terrorism and represented the Gispan family, said, “This was an ongoing injustice during which for nine years the deceased's death was not recognized as a terrorism.
“His widow and six children were not granted their rights as victims of terrorism and the reputation of the deceased was falsely tarnished as a result of allegedly committing suicide.
“Even worse, since the police casually determined that this was a suicide, the incident had not been investigated to this day as an act of terror, and the cell that carried out the murder was never caught.”
