JERUSALEM (JTA) — Dozens of residents of a Palestinian village near the West Bank Jewish settlement of Itamar were detained by Israeli soldiers.
The detained residents of Hawara village, located close to the West Bank settlement where five members of a single family were murdered two and a half weeks ago, were questioned, fingerprinted and given DNA tests, the Palestinian news agency Ma’an reported Tuesday.
The investigation into the murder of members of the Fogel family – including a 3-month-old baby – is in its third week.
About 40 Hawara residents were detained in the first week of the investigation, according to Ma’an, and some still remain in custody. Those detained on Tuesday morning include the town’s deputy mayor and two of his brothers. The town has been put under military curfew twice, according to Ma’an.
The army has not commented on Tuesday’s roundup. Details of the investigation are under a gag order in Israel.
