The five Jewish teenagers from Judea and Samaria who were arrested over the past several days were allegedly involved in the deadly attack that led to the death of a Palestinian woman, Aisha al-Rawbi, in October, Israeli authorities said on Sunday.
The five teens who were arrested are students at a yeshiva in Rechelim, close to where the attack took place, on a road near the community. The attack, investigators say, targeted a Palestinian car, causing it to veer off the road and crash. Al-Rawbi, from the Arab village of Badi and a mother of eight, suffered a fatal head injury. Her husband, Aykube, survived.
It is unclear if all five teens are suspected of being the direct perpetrators of the attack. According to the Shin Bet security agency, the breakthrough in the investigation was made possible in part by intelligence gathered close the scene of the attack. The detective work showed that a day after the attack, during the Jewish Sabbath, a group of settler youth traveled from the community of Yitzhar to Rechelim, where they were briefed on the tactics needed for countering Shin Bet interrogations.
The Shin Bet further said that the evidence collected showed "that the arrested had anti-Zionist and extremist views" that included a video in which some of them burn an Israeli flag. One of the arrested youths had also written "death to the Zionists" and drew a swastika on an Israeli flag.
Al-Rawbi's widower, Aykube, said that he knew "all along" that Jews were behind the attack. "If this was the other way around, the suspects would have been arrested a long time ago. Too bad it took so much time, and I hope justice will be served, not just for us but for many others so that no one else suffers like us. But this will not bring back my wife, nor will it bring back my children's mother."
Attorney and right-wing activist Itamar Ben-Gvir, who represents the teens, said they deny any involvement in the attack. Ben-Gvir said the case "is falling apart" because interrogators are using questionable tactics, including "spitting, shouting, cursing and borderline sexual harassment."
