Israeli police arrest relatives of suspects involved in attacks

Ramallah, Nov 11 (IANS/EFE) In coordinated raids at dawn Tuesday, Israeli security forces arrested relatives of two Palestinian suspects wanted for separate attacks Monday in Tel Aviv and the West Bank, according to local Palestinian sources.

In Nablus, police detained the father and brothers of the alleged assailant who stabbed a 20-year-old Israeli soldier at a train station in Tel Aviv. The soldier died hours later from his injuries.

The suspect in the stabbing was identified as Nour al-Din abu Hashiyeh, 18.

In the West Bank town of Hebron, Israeli security forces arrested Jamil al-Hashlomun, the brother of Maher al-Hashlomun, who allegedly stabbed to death a 25-year-old woman and wounded two others near a Jewish settlement.

The alleged attacker was admitted to a hospital in Jerusalem after being shot by a settlement security officer.

"Usually after a terrorist attack, a security operation is carried out and the relatives of the perpetrators are picked up to investigate the incident," Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told Efe news agency.

Israeli police have boosted their presence in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem as security officials raised the alert level.

In addition, four Israeli children were arrested Monday night after throwing stones at a car, which apparently belonged to Palestinians, during a protest held in downtown Jerusalem, Rosenfeld said.

In the last two weeks, four Israelis and an Ecuadorean woman have died in four attacks by Palestinians amid a climate of increasing tension.

--IANS/EFE

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