RAMALLAH: Israeli police and intelligence agency (Shin Bet) on early Monday detained 10 Israeli occupiers in the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar near Nablus, on suspicion of being involved in the torching of a mosque in the Palestinian village of Yasouf last month and in other offenses.
The Israeli Army Radio quoted security sources as saying that that Zvi Sukkot of Yitzhar, Eliran Elgali of Yitzhar and Shlomo Gilbert of Elon Moreh settlement, all 20 years old, are suspected of badly damaging Palestinian property. Two seminary students were also detained.
During the arrest, the police searched a seminary in the settlement and found violent measures, including spikes.
Five other suspects, four of them minors, were arrested on suspicion of rioting in the West Bank. The fifth is also suspected of demonstrating outside the home of a Civil Administration inspector.
The report said that more than 100 members of the security forces arrived at the settlement in order to carry out the arrests. One of the detainees was said to have lost his consciousness during the arrest. All the suspects were taken in for questioning.
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 words “price tag” was also scrawled on the walls.
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.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered the defense establishment to work to locate and arrest those behind the arson, and called for the justice to be served. The minister’s office published a statement saying he considers the incident a very grave one and said, “This is an extreme act meant to harm any of the government’s attempts to advance the process for Israel’s future.”
Abdulrahim Muslih, the head Yasouf municipal council, expressed his satisfaction with the arrest of the assailant.
Muslih told Arab News “The media reports about the arrest are positive.”
“I hope that the arsonists be jailed and not be freed after days.” For his part, the Israeli Knesset Member Michael Ben Ari of rightist National Union party slammed Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch following the incident. “The internal security minister does not lose sleep over acts of crime, murder and pedophilia, but sends hundreds of police officers to carry out acts of vandalism in Yitzhar, while blatantly violating human rights and hiding evidence of the policemen’s actions,” he said.