BICOM

Five Israeli teenagers have been arrested in connection to an October terrorist attack that killed a 47-year-old Palestinian woman.

The Shin Bet security service revealed details yesterday regarding its investigation into the death of Aisha Rabi, a mother of nine, who was killed when her car was hit by stones on 12 October near Rehelim in the West Bank. On 30 December, three students of the Pri Haaretz Yeshiva in Rehelim were arrested for “grave terrorism offences and murder.” Two other teenagers from the yeshiva were arrested this week, and all five will remain in custody until Thursday. The names of those arrested and other details of the investigation are subject to reporting restrictions.

The Shin Bet has released details of items found in the suspects’ possession, including pictures of a burned Israeli flag with “death to Zionists” written on it and a drawing of a swastika on another flag. The Shin Bet also said that on the day after the incident, “a group of activists came by car from Yitzhar to Rehelim to instruct the teens on how to hold up under Shin Bet questioning.”

The Shin Bet has been criticised by right-wing activists and Knesset members for not allowing the three teenagers to meet with their lawyer after arrest, even though this is standard practice in investigations of terrorist attacks. The Shin Bet called the claims “baseless” and said since the teenagers’ arrests, the security service “has discerned a deliberate and ongoing effort by self-interested parties to delegitimise its actions. This attempt must be condemned, and it will not stop the Shin Bet from continuing to foil terrorism, whether Jewish or Palestinian”.

Itamar Ben Gvir, a lawyer representing the suspects, said: “The timing of this statement shows that the Shin Bet is feeling pressured, the case is falling apart in their hands and there is no evidence.”

Officials in the Pri Haaretz Yeshiva in Rehelim said yesterday that all the teenagers were together for Friday night dinner on 12 October and none of them left.

Aisha’s husband, Yakoub Rabi, said that he was relieved to hear of the arrests, but not because he wanted revenge. “I don’t want this to happen to anyone else, I know that this won’t bring my wife back, I don’t want my children to know about this, I even disconnected the internet at home so that they don’t get any information about it,” he added.