'40 kids killed by parents in 7 yrs'

Knesset c'tee discusses case as father reenacts murder for police.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Netanya Murder 311 (photo credit: Channel 10)
Netanya Murder 311
(photo credit: Channel 10)
An emergency Committee for Children's Rights meeting convened in Knesset on Monday in the wake of the murder of three children, allegedly at the hands of their father Itai Ben-Dror in Netanya on Saturday.
Attended by Dr. Yitzah Kadman, child welfare expert and executive director of the National Council for the Child, the committee members were presented with data showing that 40 children have been murdered by their parents in the last seven years.
RELATED:‘The mind cannot fathom such an act’Netanya suspect's ex-wife: 'If you love me, let medie'Kadman also reported that his organization had received many calls from concerned parents in the wake of the tragedy, whose children had been adversely affected and frightened by the news.
Likud MK Danny Danon, who chairs the Committee for Children's Rights, raised the issue of whether parents should attempt to hide such instances from their children or somehow try to explain it to them. Kadman responded, "We can not hide information from children. They go online, listen to the radio, watch television, read." He explained that parents should do everything possible to reassure and comfort their children.
Additionally, discussion in the meeting stressed the importance of good communication between child welfare services, psychiatric services and the police in helping to prevent cases such as this occurring.
The meeting was held hours after Ben-Dror returned to his apartment in Netanya to re-enact the murder of his three children for police investigators, surrounded by six detectives to prevent area residents from harming him as he returned to the scene of the crime.
Police representatives said that during his interrogation Ben-Dror told investigators, "I murdered the kids so that they would have some peace and quiet from their mother. Today they are in heaven waiting for me."
On Sunday. the Ramle Magistrate’s Court extended Ben-Dror's remand by 10 days.
Ben-Dror was arrested at his Netanya home on Saturday morning after rescue personnel found his children – Omer, 10; Roni, 8; and Or, 5 – stabbed to death underneath a blanket on his blood-soaked mattress. Ben- Dror was found nearby with his wrists slit from a botched suicide attempt.
Ben Hartman contributed to this report