Suspects arrested after 3 months
Photo: Yaron Brener
2 arrested for suspicion of attacking 80-year-old Palestinian
2 settlers arrested in connection to beating of Hassan Barhoush, West Bank shepherd who sustained serious injuries after being beaten by masked assailants last March
Two young men, 18 and 19, were arrested Tuesday on suspicion of attacking and causing severe injuries to Hassan Barhoush,
an 80-year-old Palestinian shepherd.
One of the suspects, Israel Naki, was remanded by three days, and the second suspect will face a remand hearing Wednesday at the Jerusalem Magistrates Court. Both suspects deny the allegations.
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Barhoush, from Kafr al-Labad in the West Bank, was severely beaten by two masked men while herding his sheep at the end of March. The men hit him with sticks and fled the scene.
Barhoush and his son at the hospital (Photo: Yaron Brener)
Both of Barhoush's hands were broken in the attack, and he was left bleeding and unconscious on the ground. Only later was he found by family members and evacuated to the Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv, where he underwent a long rehabilitation process.
Last week, the police received a tip that led to the arrest of Israel Naki. The second suspect was arrested the following day.
According to police, the act was nationalistically motivated.
A source involved in the investigation said that "though the road is long, the investigation is going well."
The source added that he believed police could retrieve evidence tying the suspects to the incident.
According to the committee of the Avnei Hefetz settlement, the suspects are not residents of the settlement, but were rather "staying here for reason that could not be specified. The residents of Avnei Hefetz have clearly condemned the violent act in question."
The statement added that the settlement committee chairwoman Tikva Jan visited the victim in the hospital. "If it turns out that the suspect were indeed behind this, we intend to demand police bar them from the settlement."
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