Ra’anana family allegedly poisoned by Palestinian construction worker

A Palestinian construction worker was arrested on suspicion of multiple counts of attempted murder using a deadly poison.

Othman Nassar, 46, from Beit Furik in the West Bank, was accused of entering a Ra’anana home, which he worked on the previous year, and poisoning the food and drink. The family later discovered the break-in, noticed some missing items and called the police, Israeli media reported on Sunday.

During the police visit both the father and a police officer collapsed after drinking water from the kitchen. The father was hospitalized for a week in intensive care, and the mother, grandmother and two-year old child were briefly hospitalized for treatment, as was the police officer.

The subsequent investigation confirmed that hummus, coffee, water, and grapefruit juice were laced with a highly toxic agricultural pesticide. A search of the suspect’s house revealed a supply of the poison thought to have been used in the attack, which police believe was motivated by nationalism.

Two Israeli Arab citizens were also arrested in connection with the incident on suspicion of assisting Nassar to break into the property. They are not currently accused of knowing about or assisting in the poisoning. The house of one of them was found to contain items reported stolen during the break-in.