IDF Seizes Cash From Family of Murderers of Hadas Malka, Hy”d

IDF soldiers continued their accelerated campaign of seizing cash and assets of families of terrorists who received “bonuses” from the Palestinian Authority and Hamas for the actions of families members in murdering Jews.

Soldiers seized tens of thousands of shekels in cash from families, including money that had been paid to the family of one of the terrorists who murdered Hadas Malka Hy”d last June. The attack was carried out by three terrorists near the Damascus Gate (Shaar Shechem), with Malka killed by terrorists as the border guard was trying to protect passersby from their attack.

Ten Palestinian Authority Arabs were arrested early Tuesday for involvement in theft of agricultural goods from Israeli farms. Police believe that the ten, who live in the Chevron area, were involved in dozens of thefts of produce, animals and equipment from farms throughout southern Israel. Police seized three tractors that were identified as belonging to Israeli farmers, as well as thousands of shekels in cash. The ten will be arraigned in an Ashkelon court Tuesday, where police will request an extension of their remand.

Last month saw what police said was one of the biggest-ever agricultural theft operations ever seen in Israel. A total of 70 illegal Arabs were arrested for stealing produce and equipment from Moshav Shekef in southern Israel, adjacent to Palestinian Authority-controlled territory.

According to farmers, the thieves did some NIS 300,000 of damage to the farms. The thieves are being charged with a range of crimes, from trespassing to illegally entering Israel without a permit, to theft and vandalism.

A recent Knesset session was dedicated solely to the problem of “agricultural terror” – attacks and thefts by Arabs on Israeli farms and herds – and weighed the possibility of compensating Israeli farmers for their losses, as victims of terror attacks are compensated.

A Knesset report on the incidents shows that fires at farms and orchards, and theft of livestock and cattle, happen on a regular basis, and on a large scale. In recent weeks, a major fire in a packing house in the Galilee town of Yesod Hamaalah was burned down, causing damage of NIS 10 million. Another attack on Kibbutz Revivim in the south destroyed millions of shekels worth of produce. According to the report, losses due to these activities amount to as much as NIS 900 million a year. Despite this, few of these crimes are prosecuted.

Overnight Monday, security officials said they arrested 18 wanted security suspects in other areas in Yehudah and Shomron. The suspects were wanted for participating in rioting and throwing stones and firebombs that endangered Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers. Several of the suspects were also charged with belonging to Hamas. All were being questioned on their activities by security forces.