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West Bank arson attack: Seven suspects arrested

Separately, the defence ministry said two more alleged Jewish extremists were placed in what is known as administrative detention, which allows suspects to be held without charge indefinitely.

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The administrative detention order against Mr Ettinger, the grandson of anti-Arab rabbi Meir Kahane, who was assassinated in 1990, was said by his lawyer, Yuval Zemer, to be an indication that authorities had no evidence against him.

“Following recent events in the Judea and Samaria district, the unit for nationalist criminal activity carried out during the overnight hours a few searches and arrests in various outposts in the Binyamin region”, Luba Samri said.

The moves appeared to herald an intensification of an official crackdown on “Jewish terror” prompted by the July 31 firebombing of a home in Duma, a neighbouring Palestinian village, which killed a one-year-old toddler, Ali Dawabshe, and his father, Sa’ad.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attack as “terrorism in every respect”, and vowed to spare no effort in bringing the perpetrators to justice.

Israeli human rights activists who advocate on behalf of Palestinians have criticized the government’s jailing of suspects – no matter the nature of the crime – for failing to grant any right of appeal.

It also said it would start detaining citizens suspected of political violence against Palestinians without trial, another practice previously used only against Palestinians.

The military said a group of Palestinians attacked the Israeli at a gas station on Sunday.

The father of the Palestinian toddler who was killed last week by Israeli settlers in the West Bank succumbed to his injuries on Saturday.

In late July, Israel arrested five young Israelis in connection with the arson attack, including Meyer.

Numerous attacks have been part of a so-called “price tag” tactic intended to deter the dismantling of unauthorized settlement outposts that have sprung up on West Bank hilltops over the years.

An Israeli man was lightly wounded Sunday night in a stabbing attack near the Ofer roadblock north of Jerusalem.

A contentious Israeli law passed last month permits the force-feeding of inmates on a life-threatening hunger strike.

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The 26-year-old victim was slightly injured in the attack near Modiin, in central Israel, where he was filling up his vehicle, the Israel Defense Forces said.

Clashes erupted in Jenin after Israeli forces stormed Palestinian houses in Ya'bad