The families of six of the suspects detained over the weekend in connection with the attempted sabotage of Arabowned buses in East Jerusalem appealed to the Supreme Court today to ease the conditions of detention.
The families protested that the detainees have not been allowed to contact their lawyers or their relatives and that some were not given needed medical treatment. The court will hear the appeals tomorrow.
Interior Minister Yosef Burg, meanwhile, ordered the police to permit the detainees to receive medication and religious ritual articles. But those materials were not to be delivered directly by family members but sent through police channels. Families were informed that they could not be told where the suspects are being held, in compliance with court orders.
NEWS BLACKOUT REMAINS IN EFFECT
A news blackout on the investigation remained in effect today. Voice of Israel Radio reported that there are now only 19 detainees in Jerusalem, Ashkelon and near Yagur in northern Israel. According to media reports earlier in the week, at least 30 persons were rounded up, most of them residents of the West Bank and Golan Heights, including some leaders of the Jewish settlement movement.
According to some sources, only three of the suspects were directly involved in planting bombs in the Arab-owned buses early last Friday morning. The others are reportedly being questioned about their alleged roles in the sabotage attempt which has been attributed to a Jewish underground terrorist gang based in the West Bank.
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