Beitar Illit
Photo: AP
Police suspect hate crime against Arabs in Beitar Illit
Arrest of Israeli suspect extended by 4 days as police prepare to submit indictment against 25-year-old for attempting to run over a Palestinian, carrying out other hate crimes.
Police submitted a prosecutor’s statement to the courts Monday ahead of an expected serving of an indictment against an Israeli who was arrested five days ago on suspicion of attempting to run over a Palestinian, assaulting Palestinians and causing damage to their vehicles.
The arrest of the suspect, a 25-year-old resident of Beitar Illit in Gush Etzion, was extended by four days by the Jerusalem Magistrates’ Court.
Beitar Illit (Photo: Gil Yohanan)
According to the Judea and Samaria District Police, on January 23 the police launched an investigation following the filing of a complaint by a Palestinian who claimed that while he was sweeping the sidewalk in Beitar Illit, the suspect pulled up next to him and began interrogating him.
After hearing that the worker spoke Arabic, he tried to run him over a number of times, driving his vehicle forward and in reverse before fleeing the scene. The complainant was not harmed in the alleged attempted nationally-motivated attack. After the complaint was filed, the investigation led to the suspect’s arrest the next day.
During his investigation, the suspect confessed to another five incidents that took place recently in Beitar Illit, in which he hit Palestinians and caused damage to their vehicles in attacks carried out for nationalistic reasons.
The man was investigated for endangering lives in a traffic route for nationalistic reasons, assault and battery and causing damage to a vehicle with intent.
