Police arrested a 16-year-old teenager from the central Israeli town of Ramle last week and suspect him of the murder of 74-year-old Destao Bisset after he allegedly ran him over with an electric bicycle in May, Haaretz reported.
The victim was hit shortly after a ceasefire was reached between Israel and Hamas during Operation Guardian of the Walls, leading investigators to believe that the incident may have been nationalistically motivated, according to Haaretz.
The suspect's family from the Arab part of Ramle criticized the police in the way they conducted their investigation and the family rejected the notion that their relative committed the hit-and-run on nationalistic motives.
"We hope that security forces will properly interrogate any suspects, locate all others and bring them to justice. We want justice to be done soon and the murderers will rot behind bars," the victim's family told Haaretz.
The teenager has no criminal record and maintained his right to remain silent during his first interrogation. His lawyer, Yossi Pariente, denies any connection he has to the incident, and that he has an alibi for being with his mother and brother at the time of the crash.
"With all the grief and pain for the victim's family, it seems puzzling to me that the police are trying to arrest a minor with no criminal record in such an incident," Pariente said.