Youth Members of ‘Jewish Terror Organization’ Arrested

Israeli authorities have arrested several youths in connection with an arson attack that killed a Palestinian toddler and his parents.

Pictures sit on the floor of a West Bank home that was destroyed by a fire on July 31.

A police statement did not say how many suspects were in custody.

The Shin Bet domestic security agency said arrests had been made in recent days of young men “suspected of belonging to a Jewish terror organisation and carrying out terror attacks”.

The killing of three members of the Dawabsha family in the village of Duma four months ago was condemned by Palestinian and Israeli leaders.

Further information on the investigation, including the identities of those held, remained under an Israeli gag order, often used to keep details of sensitive investigations secret.

The 37-year-old was accused of recruiting and supplying weapons for the men who carried out the attack, the spokesperson added. His father, Saad, succumbed to severe burns the following week, and his mother, Riham, died in early September. A 47-year-old Israeli was seriously wounded and an Israeli soldier was lightly wounded.

“Vengeance” and “long live the Messiah” were spray-painted on the torched Dawabsheh family home.

The measures allow the detention without trial of Israeli citizens suspected of political violence against Palestinians and harsher interrogations – measures previously reserved largely for Palestinian suspects.

No one is criticizing France for using excessive force in retaliation for the horrific ISIS attacks and no one is criticizing Belgium for pre-emptive detention of suspected ISIS terrorists.

Shortly before the latest arrests, Nickolay Mladenov, the UN’s special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, had criticized Israel for what he described as the “slow progress” of the investigation.