A 25-year-old Arab from Kalkilya has confessed to the murder of two members of a Jewish settler family in the West Bank last April when he set their car ablaze with a Molotov cocktail, the Israel Defense Force announced Wednesday.
Ofra Moses, 35,from the settlement of Alfei Menashe, near Kalkilya, was burned to death and her 5-year-old son, Tal, died of burns three months later. Her husband, Abraham; their two other children, Nir, 15, and Adi, 9; and a friend, Yossi Hilleli, 14, were all badly burned, but they recovered.
Their faces and bodies are still scarred and they are still grieving over their loss. But the surviving members of the Moses family had an impromptu party at their home here Wednesday night to celebrate the capture of the Killer. They sliced a huge cake, a personal gift from Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
The incident on the night of April 7 aroused fury among West Bank settlers, who accused the IDF of failure to protect them from terrorists. Several dozen settlers rampaged through Kalkilya, the nearest Arab town, the following night. They caused no injuries, but did considerable damage.
The Moses family learned of the arrest of the suspect, who has not been publicly identified, in a telephone call from the Defense Ministry Wednesday morning. They were told he confessed and re-enacted the attack.
Several hours later, Gen. Amram Mitzna, commander of the central sector, paid a personal visit on the family to inform them of the successful resolution to the case.
“I return a personal debt to the family and the entire people of Israel,” Mitzna said. He pledged that from now on, the people of Alfei Menashe can travel safely on the local roads.
Abraham Moses told reporters later, “I am glad that the murderer was caught, but I am concerned he will not get his due punishment, the death sentence.”
The suspect also reportedly confessed to other terrorist acts, including a Molotov cocktail attack four months ago on the car of Edna and Menashe Regev of Alfei Menashe. They were injured, but later recovered.
(Tel Aviv correspondent Hugh Orgel also contributed to this report.)
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