RAMALLAH: The Israeli Police on Thursday arrested an occupier teen suspected of involvement in the torching of a mosque in the West Bank village of Yasouf three weeks ago.
The police said that a relative of Rabbi Meir Kahane, the founder of racist Kach party, was detained by its West Bank forces at the Za'tara junction, just few kilometers to the east of Yasouf. It added that the suspect, whose name was not released because he is a minor, was taken in for questioning.
Kahane was a member of Israeli Knesset from 1984 until his party was declared racist and banned from the Knesset in 1988. He was assassinated in New York on November 5, 1990.
Fire was set to the large mosque in Yasouf, east of Salfit, on Dec. 11. During the attack, the vandals torched copies of the Holy Qur'an and prayer carpets and scrawled Nazi slogans in Hebrew across the walls that said: "We will burn all of you." The word "price tag" were also scrawled.
Israeli security authorities suspected extreme-right wing elements attacked the mosque as a "price tag" for the decision to freeze housing starts in the settlements and raised concern in Israel that it would trigger violent responses.
Clashes broke out between Israeli forces and Palestinians near the village after the incident. As the Muslim worshippers left their Friday prayers, a number of Palestinians threw stones at Israeli forces in the village. As a result, an Israeli Border Guard officer was lightly wounded. The Palestinians claim the soldiers responded with live fire and tear gas.
Abdulrahim Muslih, the head Yasouf municipal council, expressed his satisfaction over the arrest of the assailant.
Muslih told Arab News: "The media reports about the arrest is positive. I hope the development will help calm things down and that the culprit will be punished. If the report is true, I highly appreciate the quick Israeli response and action."
Ghassan Daghlas, the Palestinian Authority official monitoring settler activity in the northern West Bank, said he hopes the arrest of Kahane's relative "will end this affair and will mark the beginning of handling the settlers."
