Shin Bet arrests three in West Bank in Jewish terror case
Security forces raided a yeshiva in the northern West bank, arresting a Jewish minor. In an unusual move, the minor is not allowed to meet with his attorney.
By YONAH JEREMY BOBUpdated: DECEMBER 31, 2018 01:08Man in handcuffs - illustrative(photo credit: INGIMAGE / ASAP)
Three minors in an alleged Jewish terrorist cell were arrested by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and police in the West Bank on Sunday.Further details of the allegations are under gag order pending developments in the ongoing questioning of the suspects.The Shin Bet itself had no comment on the case. But according to Honenu lawyer Itamar Ben-Gvir, one of the minors was arrested by security forces during a raid on a yeshiva in the northern West Bank.Ben-Gvir protested that the minor was not being allowed to consult with a lawyer and filed an emergency petition late Sunday tomeet with his client.The Lod District Court will hear the petition Monday morning, and later that day the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court will determine how long the minors can be detained pending the investigation.Though generally suspects have the right to consult a lawyer in security cases, especially minors, the courts permit the Shin Bet a longer period of time to question suspects without such access.There were no allegations of the Shin Bet using enhanced interrogation methods on the suspects, but it did use those methods in 2015 on the alleged Duma Jewish terrorist conspirators.The Shin Bet’s use of enhanced interrogation in the Duma case led to some confessions being disqualified by the trial court, though others were accepted by the court and the prosecution says it still expects to convict the defendants.Whether enhanced interrogation might be used will depend on whether the suspects cooperate, and if they do not, whether the Shin Bet can convincingly argue that they need to unravel more aspects of the cell to stop further attacks.
However, there was speculation on Sunday night that this cell was less organized than the Duma cell, which might discredit the idea that it had future dangerous attacks planned.There were 32 anti-Arab or anti-Palestinian incidents in 2018, nearly double from 2017.In recent weeks in particular, there have been a number of “price tag” vandalism incidents in Judea and Samaria which are unsolved to date.Moreover, on October 13, a Palestinian woman named Aysha Ravi was hit by rocks while driving her car near the Tapuah Junction in the West Bank and was killed.Ravi was driving with her husband beside her, and was injured when the stones struck her head.She was taken to the hospital where she later died.There was testimony from the Palestinian side that Jewish rock throwers had been involved, but no one had been caught to date.
