Four suspects held for torching mosque

The Shin Bet security service arrested four suspects yesterday in connection with the torching of a village mosque in Kfar Yasuf. The four were remanded to custody for one week, and a police source says there is "solid evidence" against them.

Operation Assif Rishon got the green light at 4 A.M. - the culmination of two weeks of detailed preparations on the part of Judea and Samaria police detectives along with intelligence provided by the Shin Bet's Jewish division.

The Shin Bet, backed by police forces, carried out arrests in a number of locations. The biggest operation was in the settlement of Yitzhar, where some 100 detectives and anti-terrorists officers - in possession of precise intelligence and aerial photographs of the homes of the suspects - surprised them in their beds at the Od Yosef Hai Yeshiva.

Three of the suspects arrested were named as Eliran Elgali from Netanya, Zvi Sukkot of Yitzhar, and a minor from a settlement in Gush Eztion.

During the raid, the police arrested four other minors suspected of violating order in various ways. Another minor, wanted for questioning for harassing a civil administration official, was also arrested.

A search of the area uncovered spikes, spray paint and other items used during disturbances in the area.

The head of the yeshiva, Itamar Pozan told the settler radio station Arutz Sheva that the yeshiva is an educational institution and entry onto its premises in such a way is unacceptable.

The Shin Bet also arrested Shlomo Gilbert, a resident of the settlement of Elon Moreh, at the Mercaz HaRav Yeshiva in Jerusalem. A minor was arrested elsewhere in Jerusalem, questioned by police at the Beit Shemesh station, and released to his home under restrictive conditions.

The four suspects in connection with the mosque arson have no previous convictions. Sukkot is a well-known activist in the West Bank. Gilbert's father heads the kollel (a yeshiva for married men) at Elon Moreh. The four are being held by the Shin Bet at the Petah Tikvah police station.

'It will be resolved'

According to the investigation, Elgali is the main suspect and the only one believed to have been involved in spraying graffiti. A police source expressed great confidence yesterday in the results of the investigation, saying "the affair will be resolved. Period."

Yesterday afternoon the four were brought to the Petah Tikvah Magistrate's Court to be remanded into custody. The suspects were brought in separately to prevent them from coordinating their testimonies.

Supporters of the four suspects arrived at the court shouting words of encouragement, such as "Everyone remains silent" and "God is King."

Judge Einat Ron dismissed the supporters from the hall, describing their cries as "borderline criminal violations."

Ran Hernes, representing the police, presented the court with a secret file that detailed the evidence and the investigation that had been carried out.

"The four suspects deny any link to the affair and I am certain of their innocence," said defense attorney Adi Keidar. "The Shin Bet investigators are applying unacceptable pressure, both during their interrogation and also in the conditions of incarceration of the four. They are being treated as Shin Bet prisoners and as the worst terrorists. The four have no criminal record."

The Petah Tikvah Magistrate's Court remanded all four suspects to seven days in custody.