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Leonard (Arik) Karp

Tel Baruch beach lynch suspects remain in police custody

Court extends remand of eight Jaljulia residents, woman soldier suspected of involvement in Friday night's murder of Leonard (Arik) Karp, while 17-year-old girl sent to house arrest. Peres: Israeli society not a lost cause

The Tel Aviv Magistrates' Court overnight Sunday extended the remand of eight residents of the Arab local council of Jaljulia who are suspected of being involved in the murder of 59-year-old Leonard (Arik) Karp Friday night at the Tel Baruch beach.

 

Another suspect, a 17-year-old girl from Kfar Saba was sent to house arrest, but the remand of a 19-year-old woman soldier from Petach Tikva was extended by three days after the court accepted the police's appeal against its previous decision to send her to house arrest as well.  

 

Police initially claimed that the 17-year-old girl, who was detained at the scene of the crime, was involved in it, but her attorney, Uri Keinan said, "It is outrageous that she was not allowed to meet with a lawyer, and any confession taken from her is worthless."

 

The woman soldier is suspected of obstruction of justice, tampering with evidence, assault and conspiracy to commit a crime.

 

The remand of one of the suspects from Jaljulia, who is 17-year-old, was extended by five days. The remand of the remaining suspects was extended by two to 10 days.

 

The suspects' names and photos have been placed under a gag order because some of the suspects are minors.

 

A police investigation revealed that the man, who lives in the area, was sitting with his wife and 25-year-old daughter on a bench at the beach, when a group of young people arrived at the area.

 

According to the mother and daughter, the youths made a comment about Karp's daughter and he responded, prompting them to attack the family members.

 

'We are capable of dealing with this'

At a certain stage, the mother and daughter began fleeing the area. Some of the assailants ran after them, while the other continued beating the father. The father managed to escape a short distance, but the youths chased him and allegedly drowned him in the water.

 

The two women, who lost eye contact with the father, called the police and Magen David Adom rescue services. A police line-up is set to be held some time during the course of the investigation.

 

Last week Ibrahim, a Tel Aviv resident who volunteers as an inspector at the Tel Baruch beach, told police that the young Jaljulia gang rioted over a parking lot payment dispute and terrorized passersby. Police were called to the scene, however no arrests were made.

 

The inspector said that once police arrived he and his friends were afraid of approaching them. "I didn't want to talk to the police so I wouldn't get stabbed. I was scared," Ibrahim said. He also added, "These people (the youths from Jaljulia) have murder in their eyes."

 

When Ibrahim saw the youths arrive at the beach on Saturday he foresaw trouble and after seeing the ambulances and police cars arriving at the scene he realized his fear had materialized.

 

On Sunday President Shimon Peres responded to the murder by saying that the country occasionally runs into horrifying challenges. "I believe in my heart that we are capable of dealing with this," he said.

 

In an interview with Army Radio, Peres said, "The police are correct that we must dedicate the entire system to (dealing) with this. We aren't a lost cause."

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday spoke to Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch about the murder Saturday evening and said he was appalled and concerned about the case.

 

Netanyahu ordered the minister to increase police activity against hooliganism and to expedite indictments in the case, the last of seven murders to have occurred in Israel over the course of just two weeks.

 

Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin instructed the Knesset Internal Affairs Committee to hold an urgent session on the recent wave of violence afflicting the country.

  

Police officials and Finance Ministry representatives are slated to participate in the committee meeting, scheduled for Wednesday.

 

Yael Levy contributed to this report

 


פרסום ראשון: 08.16.09, 08:58
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