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| 2 Israelis Charged in Deadly Attack on Palestinian Family in West Bank | |
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| JERUSALEM — Two young Israelis were charged on Sunday in connection with a deadly arson attack in July on a Palestinian home in the West Bank, a case that Israeli leaders condemned as Jewish terrorism and that enraged Palestinians. | JERUSALEM — Two young Israelis were charged on Sunday in connection with a deadly arson attack in July on a Palestinian home in the West Bank, a case that Israeli leaders condemned as Jewish terrorism and that enraged Palestinians. |
| Amiram Ben-Uliel, 21, was charged with murder in the attack in the village of Duma, which killed a Palestinian toddler and his parents. Israel’s domestic security agency, Shin Bet, said that Mr. Ben-Uliel, who grew up in an Israeli settlement in the West Bank and spent some of his teenage years living in outposts on West Bank hilltops, had confessed to planning and carrying out the attack. | Amiram Ben-Uliel, 21, was charged with murder in the attack in the village of Duma, which killed a Palestinian toddler and his parents. Israel’s domestic security agency, Shin Bet, said that Mr. Ben-Uliel, who grew up in an Israeli settlement in the West Bank and spent some of his teenage years living in outposts on West Bank hilltops, had confessed to planning and carrying out the attack. |
| A minor who was not named confessed to helping plan the Duma attack, according to Shin Bet, and was charged with providing assistance and conspiracy to commit a crime. The court lifted an official gag order that had been imposed on the case for the last month but said that the name of the minor, who holds American citizenship, was still off limits. | A minor who was not named confessed to helping plan the Duma attack, according to Shin Bet, and was charged with providing assistance and conspiracy to commit a crime. The court lifted an official gag order that had been imposed on the case for the last month but said that the name of the minor, who holds American citizenship, was still off limits. |
| The minor was also charged with involvement in four additional attacks on Palestinian property over the last 18 months and an arson attack last February on the Dormition Abbey, a landmark church that sits on Mount Zion, just outside the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City. | The minor was also charged with involvement in four additional attacks on Palestinian property over the last 18 months and an arson attack last February on the Dormition Abbey, a landmark church that sits on Mount Zion, just outside the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City. |
| Three more Israelis were charged with various additional crimes, including an assault on a Palestinian shepherd. Two of them are also minors. | Three more Israelis were charged with various additional crimes, including an assault on a Palestinian shepherd. Two of them are also minors. |
| In a statement on Sunday, a settlers group praised the indictments, saying that was “now clear that these acts were perpetrated by a fringe group of anarchists bent on destroying the State of Israel and the freedom and justice that it represents.” | In a statement on Sunday, a settlers group praised the indictments, saying that was “now clear that these acts were perpetrated by a fringe group of anarchists bent on destroying the State of Israel and the freedom and justice that it represents.” |
| The statement added that the group “condemns these heinous acts of unadulterated murder and will continue to work together with the security forces to ensure a peaceful future for all the residents of Judea and Samaria,” an Israeli phrase for the West Bank. | The statement added that the group “condemns these heinous acts of unadulterated murder and will continue to work together with the security forces to ensure a peaceful future for all the residents of Judea and Samaria,” an Israeli phrase for the West Bank. |
| The Duma case has caused an uproar among the far right in Israel, with lawyers representing the suspects accusing Shin Bet interrogators of torturing and abusing them in order to extract confessions. | The Duma case has caused an uproar among the far right in Israel, with lawyers representing the suspects accusing Shin Bet interrogators of torturing and abusing them in order to extract confessions. |
| “We will make sure, as we did at the beginning, with our request to lift the gag order, to bring to the knowledge of the public everything that happened in this investigation,” Hai Haber, a lawyer representing one of the suspects, told Israel Radio. “The public has to know what goes on in the interrogation rooms of the Shin Bet so it can judge for itself,” he added. | “We will make sure, as we did at the beginning, with our request to lift the gag order, to bring to the knowledge of the public everything that happened in this investigation,” Hai Haber, a lawyer representing one of the suspects, told Israel Radio. “The public has to know what goes on in the interrogation rooms of the Shin Bet so it can judge for itself,” he added. |
| Itamar Ben-Gvir, a lawyer representing Mr. Ben-Uliel, said, “This indictment is not the end. It is the beginning of opening a Pandora’s box against Shin Bet.” | Itamar Ben-Gvir, a lawyer representing Mr. Ben-Uliel, said, “This indictment is not the end. It is the beginning of opening a Pandora’s box against Shin Bet.” |
| “According to the law in Israel, a confession has to be given with free will and the good will of consent,” he said, adding that Mr. Ben-Uliel’s confession “was extracted by force, with blows.” | “According to the law in Israel, a confession has to be given with free will and the good will of consent,” he said, adding that Mr. Ben-Uliel’s confession “was extracted by force, with blows.” |
| The authorities used extraordinary methods in this case that were previously reserved for Palestinians accused of terrorism, including preventing suspects from meeting with lawyers, in some cases for the maximum period of three weeks allowed under the law. | The authorities used extraordinary methods in this case that were previously reserved for Palestinians accused of terrorism, including preventing suspects from meeting with lawyers, in some cases for the maximum period of three weeks allowed under the law. |
| In an unusual statement last month, Shin Bet rejected what it described as a “campaign of mendacious defamation” against the agency and its staff, and said it was investigating a “Jewish terrorist network” that was planning future attacks. The agency hinted that it was using harsher methods than usual, in line with procedures permitted in cases of so-called ticking bombs. But it denied allegations of abuse including sexual harassment, kicking and spitting, and also denied that one of the minors had attempted to harm himself or commit suicide, as lawyers and supporters had claimed. | In an unusual statement last month, Shin Bet rejected what it described as a “campaign of mendacious defamation” against the agency and its staff, and said it was investigating a “Jewish terrorist network” that was planning future attacks. The agency hinted that it was using harsher methods than usual, in line with procedures permitted in cases of so-called ticking bombs. But it denied allegations of abuse including sexual harassment, kicking and spitting, and also denied that one of the minors had attempted to harm himself or commit suicide, as lawyers and supporters had claimed. |
| The Israeli authorities determined early on that Jewish extremists were behind the attack in Duma, in which Ali Dawabsheh, 18 months old, burned to death. His parents and elder brother, Ahmad, who was 4 at the time, sustained critical burns over much of their bodies; the father died after a week, and the mother after five weeks. Ahmad is still being treated in an Israeli hospital. Hebrew graffiti including “Long live the Messiah king” and a call for “Revenge!” were found at the scene. | The Israeli authorities determined early on that Jewish extremists were behind the attack in Duma, in which Ali Dawabsheh, 18 months old, burned to death. His parents and elder brother, Ahmad, who was 4 at the time, sustained critical burns over much of their bodies; the father died after a week, and the mother after five weeks. Ahmad is still being treated in an Israeli hospital. Hebrew graffiti including “Long live the Messiah king” and a call for “Revenge!” were found at the scene. |
| Yet for months, the Israeli police and Shin Bet appeared to have made little progress in resolving the case. The defense minister, Moshe Yaalon, had said that the authorities had a good idea of who was behind the attack but lacked the kind of evidence needed to bring the case to court without harming Israel’s intelligence assets. | Yet for months, the Israeli police and Shin Bet appeared to have made little progress in resolving the case. The defense minister, Moshe Yaalon, had said that the authorities had a good idea of who was behind the attack but lacked the kind of evidence needed to bring the case to court without harming Israel’s intelligence assets. |
| Many Palestinians had cited the attack and the delay in bringing its perpetrators to justice as one of the grievances in a buildup of popular anger that has erupted over the last three months in a wave of violent attacks by Palestinians on Israelis. | Many Palestinians had cited the attack and the delay in bringing its perpetrators to justice as one of the grievances in a buildup of popular anger that has erupted over the last three months in a wave of violent attacks by Palestinians on Israelis. |
| Shin Bet announced a breakthrough a month ago, saying that it had arrested a number of Jewish extremists suspected of belonging to a terrorist network that carried out the attacks in Duma and elsewhere. | Shin Bet announced a breakthrough a month ago, saying that it had arrested a number of Jewish extremists suspected of belonging to a terrorist network that carried out the attacks in Duma and elsewhere. |
| Shin Bet was referring to a shadowy group known as the Revolt, whose manifesto advocates an anarchic vision of redemption. The far-right extremists, many of whom live in unauthorized settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank, call for fomenting unrest to bring about the collapse of the democratic system in Israel and replacing it with a Jewish kingdom based on the Torah. | Shin Bet was referring to a shadowy group known as the Revolt, whose manifesto advocates an anarchic vision of redemption. The far-right extremists, many of whom live in unauthorized settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank, call for fomenting unrest to bring about the collapse of the democratic system in Israel and replacing it with a Jewish kingdom based on the Torah. |
| Close to midnight on July 30, Shin Bet said, Mr. Ben-Uliel waited in a cave in the West Bank where he had arranged to meet the minor with whom he had planned the arson. When the minor failed to show up, Mr. Ben-Uliel set off on foot, alone, for Duma, and searched for suitable houses inside the village. | Close to midnight on July 30, Shin Bet said, Mr. Ben-Uliel waited in a cave in the West Bank where he had arranged to meet the minor with whom he had planned the arson. When the minor failed to show up, Mr. Ben-Uliel set off on foot, alone, for Duma, and searched for suitable houses inside the village. |
| He prepared two firebombs in the yard of one house, sprayed graffiti on some outside walls then threw the firebombs into two homes. The Dawabsheh family was sleeping in one of them. | He prepared two firebombs in the yard of one house, sprayed graffiti on some outside walls then threw the firebombs into two homes. The Dawabsheh family was sleeping in one of them. |