4 Palestinians arrested for threatening court witness’s life, firebombing his cars

Men allegedly threatened to Jewish business owner if he testified against them in tax-evasion trial.

By DANIEL K. EISENBUD
Handcuffs (illustrative photo) 370 (photo credit: Reuters)
Handcuffs (illustrative photo) 370
(photo credit: Reuters)
Four Palestinian men from the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Shuafat were arrested Wednesday following a month-long police investigation into the group’s harassment and death threats against a Jewish business owner scheduled to testify against them in a tax-evasion trial.
According to police, earlier last month the suspects firebombed two of the man’s vehicles, went to the Jerusalem banquet hall he owns to intimidate him, made repeated threatening phone calls and sent him a menacing letter in the mail containing a bullet in an ongoing terror campaign.
“The whole case began in October when the suspects set two of the man’s cars on fire in the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood to scare him from testifying against them,” said Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld Wednesday.
“The letter with a bullet inside was sent to his home after that, warning him of grave physical harm if he did.”
Rosenfeld said the victim immediately contacted police upon receiving the letter and a special investigation was initiated.
Following forensic testing of both cars and the letter and bullet, police were able to trace fingerprints and other evidence to the men, who were questioned and arrested Wednesday. All four suspects were subsequently arraigned and remanded at Jerusalem Magistrate Court Wednesday afternoon.
Rosenfeld did not provide details of the tax case in question, but said allegations against the men were allegedly made by the victim to the Tax Authority last month.
 “We expect more arrests soon and our investigation is continuing,” he said.