BICOM

Israeli authorities yesterday arrested six Jewish Israeli extremists in connection with the murder last week of the 16-year-old Palestinian, Mohammed Abu Khedir from East Jerusalem.

The discovery of Abu Khedir’s body last Wednesday in the Jerusalem Forest sparked riots in East Jerusalem and beyond. Fears that the murder was carried out as an act of revenge for the murder of three Israeli teenagers, Eyal Yifrah, Gilad Shaer and Naftali Frenkel, whose bodies were discovered last week appear to have been confirmed. Although the exact identities of the suspects remain under a gag order, the Shin Bet security agency confirmed that all were Jewish Israeli extremists.

According to police, the suspects are from Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh and the West Bank settlement of Adam. Some are reported to be minors. Channel Two said that the six are not part of an organised extremist group, but are radical youths who had decided to carry out the murder. A Petach Tikva court yesterday ruled that five of the suspects will be detained for an additional eight days and the final suspect an additional five days.

Meanwhile, over the weekend, Israeli security forces apprehended a suspect in Hebron in connection with the kidnapping and murder of Yifrah, Shaer and Frenkel. Also yesterday, Israel’s police announced that an Arab citizen from the Galilee region had been arrested for the murder in May of 19-year-old Shelly Dadon, which police also described as a nationalistically motivated killing.

Following yesterday’s arrests, Israeli leaders from across the political spectrum immediately expressed revulsion and unequivocal condemnation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented on Abu Khedir’s killing saying, “I pledge that the perpetrators of this horrific crime will face the full weight of the law,” adding “Murder is murder, and incitement is incitement.” President Shimon Peres said “In the State of Israel there is no difference between blood and blood… The murder of… a Jew or an Arab…cannot be accepted.” Finance Minister Yair Lapid said “we should all be ashamed” over Abu Khadir’s murder, which Economy Minister Naftali Bennett called a “heinous act.”