Shin Bet says solved West Bank murder
Four murderers of Dr. Daniel Yaakobi said to have been found in Qalqilya area after three-year investigation
Yaakobi was a resident of the West Bank settlement of Yakir. His body was found burned in the trunk of a car in a field near the city of Qalqilya on July 27, 2006. He was last seen leaving the settlement in the direction of Karnei Shomron.
Two days later the Israel Defense Forces reported that four operatives of al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, Fatah's military wing, had been arrested in relation to the terror attack but were released shortly after due to lack of evidence.
Then, during the months of April and May, the Border Guard arrested the four current suspects: Tayun Tayun, a Fatah operative, his 25-year old brother Ahmad Tayun, 19-year old Amar Nofel, and 26-year old Nassim Jabaiti.
Tayun Tayun confessed to the murder during a Shin Bet interrogation and said it had been retaliation for the murder of Islamic Jihad operative Hamada Shtiwi, who was killed by security forces one day earlier. Shtiwi was suspected of planning to smuggle a suicide bomber into Israel.
Tayun said Yaakobi had brought his car to his brother, Ahmad's, garage in Qalqilya. He said he attacked and beat him with a wrench and a stick until he fell to the floor, dead. Ahmad and Nofel arrived at the garage to find Yaakobi strewn on the floor.
According to the testimony, Ahmad then ordered his brother to torch the car with the body inside, which he did with the help of Nofel.
The four then attended Shtiwi's funeral, and upon returning updated Jabaiti on the murder. The four then returned to the garage to wipe clean the scene of the crime and to burn the doctor's personal belongings, according to Tayun.
'He helped both Jews and Arabs'
Dr. Yaakobi's family members received the news on the arrest of four Palestinians suspected of murdering him from Colonel Eran Niv, commander of the Efraim Brigade.
"Today we know it was a harsh and shocking murder. It's a difficult feeling. We are somewhat glad that they found them so that they don't roam freely, but we cannot do anything to bring Danny back," Sharon Tovi, Yaakobi's son-in-law, told Ynet on Wednesday evening.
"Unfortunately, there is no death sentence in Israel. I think a person who murdered a person for being Jewish must get the same thing in return, but this is not the law. We are not looking for revenge. We are just hurting over our loss.
"We hope to have a country where we don't have to walk around in fear. This is a prayer of any person who has been struck with bereavement. We hoped Danny would be the last victim."
Referring to the details given to the family by the brigade commander, Tovi said, "He was very sensitive. He sought to brief us in advance about the arrest, but did not get into details about the incident.
"When Danny was murdered it was a great loss, and this news brought back the difficult feelings. My wife refuses to hear how it happened. She doesn’t want to know what he felt during his last moments. It makes her feel bad."
Yaakobi's son-in-law stressed that "the absurdity is that Danny was a doctor who helped everyone, both Jewish and Arab neighbors, but was unfortunately hurt by Arabs. Many Arabs were very angry about this incident."
Yael Levy contributed to this report
