Iman Salhab and Haitham Salhab
צילום: דודי ועקנין
Cousins plan to kidnap, murder Jew 'for money'
Two east Jerusalem residents admit they had been offered $2,000 to kill haredi Jew, but say 'it was all talk'
Two east Jerusalem residents planned to kidnap a haredi Jew, murder him and then use his body as a bargaining chip in negotiations over the release of Palestinian prisoners.
The two were arrested by the Shin Bet and the police last Thursday.
The suspects, cousins Iman Salhab and Haitham Salhab, arrived Thursday for their second remand extension at the Jerusalem Magistrates Court. The police are expected to ask that they remain in custody until the proceedings against them are completed.
Plotted to kidnap and murder haredi Jew "for the money" (Photo courtesy of Dudi Vaaknin)
The two men were recruited by a Gaza resident, Hussein Saliman Hamida, who had previously engaged in criminal activities with them. He offered several thousand shekels for the kidnapping.
The suspects told police that they had driven around a few haredi Jerusalem neighborhoods offering haredi people a ride.
According to Avi Roif, head of the police's Central Investigations Unit, the suspects said that they focused on haredi men because they often hitch hike and there was no doubt about their Jewishness.
None of the men they approached accepted their offer for a ride so they decided to get a gun to force a pedestrian into the car. After the kidnapping they were supposed to transfer the victim's ID card to Palestinian organizations in Gaza or the West Bank to negotiate the release of Islamic Jihad prisoners.
The suspects said that they were each offered $2,000. "We were only doing it to get the money. For our children," said Iman Salhab.
"It was all talk. We didn't do anything. We just drove around Jerusalem once. We didn't want to kill anyone, only take the ID card," he added. We didn't receive even one shekel. I am sorry and I will pay for our mistake," he added.
Both suspects have prior criminal records for trading arms, dealing drugs and trafficking Palestinians working in Israel illegaly.
Having admitted to the plot they will probably be indicted with conspiracy to commit a crime and attempted murder.
