Police have arrested several men and women in the quiet residential Jewish village of Shvut Rachel in Samaria (Shomron), residents report. Resident Meir Bartler told Arutz Sheva that police officers came accompanied by members of the Yassam special forces.
Police make one arrest, then return a short time later for another, he said. Accompanying the arrests are “brutal searches in the town, in front of children,” he added.
The town is home to Yaakov (Jack) Teitel, an American-Israeli man accused of nationalist crimes including the murder of two Arabs in 1997. Teitel’s wife Rivka was among those arrested recently. Also taken into custody was Harel Hatzroni, who was allegedly arrested so that he would testify.
Likud activists in the community sought help from Minister Yuli Edelstein (Likud). Edelstein accepted an invitation to the town and met with residents Monday to hear their complaints.
Edelstein expressed support for Shvut Rachel. “These are obviously law-abiding people, [some are] even innocent children,” he said. “They must not be treated like crime gangs or like the Sicilian mafia.”
The minister told residents that he will do what he can to see that the incidents upsetting them are not repeated in the future.