Tel Aviv District commander Maj.-Gen. Bentzi Sau
Photo: Motti Kimchi
Two Arab teens arrested over assault of haredi youth in Jaffa
Suspects apprehended after a week of undercover investigation, confess to attack in their interrogation; police still searching for third suspect.
After a week of undercover investigation, the police arrested two Arab teens on the suspicion they assaulted a haredi youth in Jaffa on August 9. The two will be brought in front of a judge for a remand extension on Monday, as police continues searching for a third suspect.
The two are suspected of attacking the youth after he left the synagogue on Saturday night and was on his way home. They allegedly cursed him, pushed him, spat on him, beat him and stole his hat.
As tensions arose between Arabs and Jews during Operation Protective Edge, the police's Tel Aviv District commander, Maj.-Gen. Bentzi Sau, instructed his policemen to treat any nationalistic incident with an iron fist, especially those occurring in mixed cities.
Police flooded the area with forces for a week in search of the attackers. At the same time, police tried to gather intelligence on the identity of the attackers.
Eventually, they managed to identify the attackers using security camera footage. Police also found the place where the attackers dumped the haredi youth's hat.
The two suspects have confessed to the acts attributed to them and said the assault occurred while they were intoxicated.
Before the arrest of the two youths, police has decided to launch an undercover investigation to prevent violence between Arabs and Jews in Jaffa.
