Israel arrests more suspects for West Bank mosque arson

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"Israeli police raided a Jewish settlement in the West Bank on Monday to arrest four seminary students on suspicion of involvement in last month's desecration of a Palestinian mosque, police sources said.

They said six other students at Yitzhar settlement were questioned over the December 10 incident in the village of Yasuf, and then freed as they were minors. Another teenage suspect from a West Bank settlement was already in police custody.

The torching of carpets and holy books in Yasuf's mosque had stirred up Palestinian indignation at a time of stalled peace talks with Israel. Israel pledged to catch the perpetrators.

Hebrew graffiti left at the mosque called the attack a "price tag" -- settler code for provocations meant to scuttle any Israeli plan to cede occupied land to the Palestinians.

Mickey Rosenfeld, a police spokesman, confirmed there had been four arrests at Yitzhar "on suspicion of deliberate damage to property."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/18/AR2010011802235.html

[Scurrilous]

1. IDF to probe desecration of Palestinian tombstones

Military Police to look into possibility graves in West Bank village vandalized by soldiers escorting Jewish settlers

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3837963,00.html

<snip>

"Military Advocate General Brigadier-General Avi Mandelblit has instructed Military Police to launch an investigation into the desecration of Palestinian tombstones at the West Bank village of Awarta on Tuesday.

Palestinians claimed that Jewish worshippers on a pilgrimage to the tombs of the righteous, who they say were escorted by IDF troops, vandalized three graves located on the outskirts of Awarta. The complaint was filed by human rights organization B'Tselem.

Awarta resident Umm Faisel Zakach said her husband's tombstone was shattered, adding that empty plastic bottles and rubbish were found near the grave.

"This is the seventh or eighth time that this has happened; each time the settlers come to pray, we discover this sort of damage," she said.

Apart from the shattered tombstones, the vandals also left behind ant-Arab graffiti written in Hebrew, English and Russian. One of the slogans included an abbreviation for one of the IDF's infantry companies."

[Scurrilous]

2. Settler rabbi linked to torching of Palestinian mosque

<snip>

"The Shin Bet security service on Tuesday arrested the head of a West Bank religious seminary for his alleged involvement in the torching of a Palestinian mosque in the village of Yasuf last month.

The suspect, Rabbi Itzik Shapira, is one of the heads of the "Od Yosef Chai" yeshiva in the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar. He was initially questioned by West Bank police, though he was later transferred into Shin Bet custody in Petah Tikva after he refused to answer questions related to the arson.

The yeshiva is behind the "price tag" policy whereby settlers have vowed to instigate actions against Palestinians in retaliation for the government's enforcement of a construction freeze in West Bank settlements.

A number of the yeshiva's administrators have published commentaries supporting this policy. Last week, the Shin Bet arrested four others linked with the arson, two of whose remand was extended by two days on Monday afternoon.

Both suspects denied the allegations against them, and were supported during the hearing by friends who shouted "god is king," and "everyone is silent."

more

[sabbat hunter]

3. all good news

Glad to see that Israel is unafraid to crack down on terrorists no matter what their nationality or religion.

[Violet_Crumble]

4. It's interesting that they can manage to arrest Israelis and not shoot them...

So, the level of cracking down seems to be very different depending on whether people are Israeli or Palestinian...

Anyway, I hope they got the right ones this time. And they should be shutting down yeshivas that are inciting violence and hatred...

[Violet_Crumble]

5. Settler teens suspected in West Bank mosque arson freed from custody

The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court on Thursday released from custody three teenaged settlers who were arrested for allegedly torching a West Bank mosque.

A disagreement in the State Attorney's Office in the central district has delayed indictments against those suspected in the arson in the Yasuf village last month, Haaretz has learned.

Charges may still be brought against the suspects, but the state attorney decided Thursday to hold off on filing the indictment. Some attorneys in the office believe the evidence is merely circumstantial and insufficient to justify filing charges.

Rabbi Itzik Shapira was released from detention Wednesday, a day after he was arrested for alleged involvement in the arson. Shapira is one of the heads of the Od Yosef Chai yeshiva in the nearby West Bank settlement of Yitzhar.

Five of Shapira's students were arrested last week on suspicion of torching the mosque's carpet and book closet and obstructing the investigation.

Shapira refused to say which of his students had taken part in the Yasuf mosque arson.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1145648.html

See, it's this whole arrest thing where it all goes haywire. They need to approach it how they do with most Palestinians they go after and just do away with the whole arrest and court thing and shoot them....

[Scurrilous]

6. Last two suspects in West Bank mosque arson released to house arrest

<snip>

"The Petah Tikva Magistrate's Court on Sunday released to house arrest the final two suspects who were being held by police for their alleged involvement in the torching of a West Bank mosque in December.

Tzvi Sukkot and Shlomo Gelberd - both residents of West Bank settlements - were arrested more than two weeks ago along with five other suspects - four of them teenagers. The other suspects were released from custody shortly after their arrest.

Sukkot and Gelberd were released without charges, but ordered to remain under house arrest for 60 days pending results of the investigation against them."

<snip>

"The suspects were arrested after a mosque in the West Bank village of Yasuf was found torched, its furniture and carpets burnt, with derogatory slogans in Hebrew sprayed across the premises.

Both Sukkot and Gelberd denied the allegations against them. Supporters turned up at their hearing, where they shouted "Dod is king," and "everyone is silent."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1146422.html