Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon (Likud) met with local leaders from the Biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria earlier this week, and briefed them on the investigation of arson triple murder at the Arab village of Duma on July 31.
According to one of the participants, Kedumim Local Council Head Hananel Durani, the meeting was initiated by the local leaders, who wanted to know if it was true that the Jewish suspects in the case were physically tortured.
In addition, he told Arutz Sheva, assuming charges are indeed filed against the suspects, the leaders wanted to make clear that the leadership in Judea and Samaria has nothing but denunciation and contempt for them.
Regarding the torture allegations, Durani said, "We understood from him in an unmistakable way that there is no torture and no abuse. Of course, the interrogations are not easy and the suspects find themselves in a bad mental state, but there is no physical torture and no abuse. He rejected this out of hand. Besides, he said that the whole process is supervised by the Attorney General, the Head of the Israel Security Agency (ISA, or Shabak), the Justice Minister and the Defense Minister himself, and that the interrogations are all videotaped."
Durani, like other leaders who were briefed on the Duma case, appeared to have little doubt that the arson murder at Duma was indeed, perpetrated by Jews.
"Immediately after the event I spoke out and said that if this is a murder that was carried out by Jews, then these are a bunch of anarchists who are not from among us, and their way is not our way. Their purpose is to undermine the IDF and the state, whereas we in the religious Zionist stream see these things as sacred, as the flag we follow."
Durani said that he also saw videotape from the wedding in which extremists celebrated the Duma arson, including scenes that the general public has not yet seen. The video is "sickening, and even more shocking than what the public was exposed to. Anyone who danced there has lost his humanity," he said. "It simply made us nauseous, we couldn't watch the video, we were so shocked."