Nine Israeli suspects arrested after Duma arson attack

Several Israelis suspected of violence against Palestinians detained in raids on settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Palestinian Saad Dawabsheh during his funeral in Duma village
Israel has come under growing pressure to crack down on far-right Jewish groups after recent attacks on Palestinians [Reuters]

Israeli security forces have arrested several Israelis suspected of plotting violence against Palestinians.

The country’s Shin Bet security service and Israel police conducted operations on Sunday morning, arresting at least seven people at two unauthorised settlement outposts in Adei Ad in the north of the occupied West Bank, local media said.

“Following various incidents that occurred in the West Bank recently, Israeli forces have carried out various searches throughout the night and have arrested a few suspects,” the police said in a statement, adding that the crackdown was part of “the investigation into the events that occurred in Duma”. 


RELATED: Duma attack: ‘Israeli settlers are burning everything’


The arson attack in Duma last month, which has been blamed on settlers, left a Palestinian baby and his father dead.

Saad Dawabsheh and his 18-month-old son Ali died and two other family members were severely injured in the July 31 attack.  

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Al Jazeera’s Imtiaz Tyab, reporting from Jerusalem, said that outposts were different from settlements in various aspects.

“Settlements are large government construction projects occupied by Israelis. Outposts are effectively communities built by Israeli settlers on their own,” he said.

“People living in outposts are widely viewed as ideological settlers as opposed to those who move to settlements for, for example, financial reasons.

“Outposts are residential areas, which are considered illegal, not only in international law, but in Israeli law pertaining to the occupied West Bank as well.”


READ MORE: West Bank arson attack: ‘My heart is burned’


Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet has come under growing pressure to crack down on violent far-right Jewish groups since the attack, and the government decided to allow harsher interrogations of Israelis suspected of plotting violence against Palestinians with methods once reserved for Palestinian detainees.

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

Netanyahu put out a statement expressing his “deep sorrow” over Dawabsheh’s death.

Source: Al Jazeera, News Agencies