The recent arson-based murder of a Palestinian baby, Ali Dawabsheh, and his father Sa’ad, in the West Bank village of Duma by Jewish radicals raises new questions around settler violence. The firebombing and subsequent deaths of Saad Dawabsheh and 18-month-old Ali drew widespread condemnation around the world-and within Israel itself, a rare response by authorities to attacks on Palestinians.
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At least nine people were arrested Sunday in raids on two West Bank outposts; the details on the raids are under a gag order.
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.
Prime Minister Netanyahu had condemned the attack as “terrorism in every respect” and ordered a crackdown on Jewish extremism that has seen three people arrested, but no one has so far been accused of carrying out the firebombing.
When the perpetrators are found, they face six months in prison with no trial (the same thing detained Palestinians are subjected to.) Israel must then follow up by hitting anyone convicted with a sentence that addresses this barbaric crime in the strongest possible way.
The warrants for administrative detention signed by Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon on the recommendation of the Shin Bet were issued against Evytar Slonim and Meir Ettinger.
The two, who are in their early 20s, were arrested last week and another suspected Jewish extremist, Mordechai Mayer, was placed under six-month administrative detention last week.
To date, Israeli authorities have used this measure against Israeli citizens sparingly, but have routinely applied it to Palestinians: Israel is now holding 370 Palestinians in administrative detention.
In the last decade, hundreds of attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank have been attributed to Jewish extremists, typically residents of Jewish outposts that are outlawed under both Israeli and worldwide law.
Several Jewish extremists on Sunday raised Israeli flags outside the gates of occupied East Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, according to the mosque’s Palestinian director. “The return to a situation similar to the second Intifada is neither good for Israelis nor Palestinians”, he said.
The lawyer for Mr Ettinger, who is the grandson of anti-Arab racist rabbi Meir Kahane, said the administration order was an indication that authorities have no actual evidence against him. “For no good reason and because of evil, stupidity and negligence, the life of our attractive flower was cut short”, said her family in a statement, according to the Israeli news website Walla.
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MK Yousef Jabareen of the United Arab List said that Israeli and Palestinian victims should receive the same compensation rights.
