Gag Order Placed on New Duma Arson Incident

Police on Sunday morning placed a gag order on details of an investigation into another arson incident in the village of Duma, the same village where three members of the Dawabshe family were killed in an arson incident in July 2015. Police arrived at the scene early Sunday and began taking evidence and testimony from residents on the latest incident.

One resident of the village was treated for smoke inhalation. The house was apparently unoccupied when the blaze broke out.

Several Israelis were arrested in December for the July arson incident. Charges in the incident were filed in January. No date has yet been set for a trial. According to a leftist group, the house that was burned down over the weekend belonged to one of the witnesses in the case. Police have not confirmed this.

Commenting on the incident, attorney Itamar Ben-Gvir, who is representing one of the suspects in the earlier case, said that the latest incident proves the claim that his client has been making – that the July arson attack, like this Sunday’s, was due to ongoing disputes between members of the community in Duma. “The claim that the latest fire was set to intimidate a witness to the incident is ridiculous, since this particular witness is set to testify that he saw a vehicle outside the Dawabshe home before the arson, whereas the Shin Bet claims that my client snuck into the village on foot.”