Police summon 30 students from West Bank yeshiva in Jewish terror case

Shin Bet: 49% spike in incidents of Israeli civilian violence against Palestinians.

JANUARY 9, 2019 22:17

Updated: JANUARY 10, 2019 00:03

A vandalized wall in Jerusalem that reads "Death to Arabs - Price Tag" (photo credit: ISRAEL POLICE) — A vandalized wall in Jerusalem that reads "Death to Arabs - Price Tag"

(photo credit: ISRAEL POLICE)

Police raided the Pri Ha’aretz Yeshiva in Rehalim and summoned 30 students for questioning, as they widened their investigation into the alleged Jewish terrorist incident that claimed the life of a Palestinian mother of nine in October.

They had already arrested five students from the West Bank seminary, who they suspect were connected to the death of Aysha Rabi. In the past they have questioned 30 other students, according to Honenu, a Zionist legal aid organization.

Honenu has represented the suspects in this case. It sent the police a warning letter on Wednesday, and has threatened legal action against them.

According to the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), there was a spike of 49% in incidents of Israeli-Jewish violence against Palestinians, up from 197 in 2017 to 295 in 2018.

The Shin Bet counted five terrorist incidents in 2018, including the Rabi killing, up from four in 2017, but it did not provide details of the incidents.

It noted, however, 80 incidents in the area of the Yitzhar settlement, up from 52 in 2017.

Price-tag attacks, it said, increased from four to 45, and attacks against security forces went up from 14 to 42.

The United Nations said it noted a 69% increase in Israeli-Jewish violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. It said that 115 Palestinians were wounded, and 7,900 trees and 540 vehicles were vandalized.

But Honenu noted that it was ridiculous to assume that the entire Pri Ha’aretz Yeshiva was involved in violence and/or was connected to the Rabi case.

The police “have gone crazy and are acting in a totally illegal manner. We call on [Public Security Minister] Gilad Erdan to wake up and end the trampling of children’s rights in an educational institution,” Honenu said.

Attorney Adi Keidar of Honenu said that the police had entered private property without the proper orders.

Attorney Itamar Ben-Gvir said the raid represented a new low for the police in the case and that the students were already traumatized by past police action.

“The interrogation of minors should be done properly and not through the brutal arrival at the school,” he said.

Rabi was murdered in October. She was struck in the head by rocks as her husband drove their family car near the Tapuah junction in the West Bank.

Anna Ahronheim contributed to this report.