adminJERUSALEM. — Six people have been arrested in connection with the murder of a Palestinian teenager who Palestinians say was killed in revenge for the murder of three Israeli settlers last month, according to police sources.Police declined to officially comment or to identify the suspects. A gag order largely bars local media from reporting on the case, but Ha’aretz newspaper described their motive as “nationalistic,” implying that they are Jewish Israelis.
A police source told Al Jazeera that at least two of those arrested are well-known right-wing activists.
Mohammed Abu Khdeir (17), was abducted on Wednesday morning outside his home in the Shuafat area of occupied East Jerusalem. His charred body was found in a Jerusalem forest hours later.
The Palestinian Authority attorney general said on Saturday that a post-mortem examination concluded he was burned to death.
Family members believe he was killed in retaliation for the murder of the three settlers — Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaer and Naftali Frenkel — who were kidnapped last month.
Their bodies were found on Monday in a valley outside of Hebron.
Abu Khdeir’s murder sparked three days of violent clashes with police in Shuafat and other East Jerusalem neighbourhoods, which left more than 100 people injured.
Separately yesterday, a Jerusalem court released on bail Tariq Abu Khdeir, Mohammed’s cousin, days after he was arrested and allegedly assaulted by Israeli police. — Al Jazeera
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