Security forces have arrested six over alleged settler killing of two Palestinians, cops say

Over the past day, security forces have arrested six people in connection with an incident in the West Bank yesterday, where settlers allegedly killed two Palestinians.

Upon reaching the scene yesterday, the IDF arrested two left-wing activists and a Palestinian resident, says a police spokesman to The Times of Israel.

The activists have since been released with a 15-day ban on their entry into the West Bank, while the Palestinian remains in custody.

Police, after arriving later at the scene, arrested two Israeli settlers who will be brought today for an extension on their remand, the spokesman adds.

This morning, an IDF reservist suspected of involvement in the incident was arrested by police and transferred to the Military Police for questioning. He was released after interrogation, says the military.

A police spokesman says that the reservist had fired into the air during the incident Friday afternoon.

Law enforcement says they are investigating the incident alongside the Shin Bet and Military Police, but do not have access to the bodies of the two Palestinians killed yesterday, which remain with the Palestinian Authority.

Police are trying to coordinate with the PA to probe the matter, but have not yet received findings from Ramallah “that attest to the two having died a violent death,” says the spokesman.

A spokesman for the PA’s health ministry said yesterday that Israeli settlers killed both Palestinians in the town of Sinjil, north of Ramallah on Friday afternoon.

The group allegedly beat to death 23-year-old Saif al-Din Musallat, a Palestinian-American from Florida, and later fatally shot 23-year-old Mohammad Shalabi in the back.

One of Musallat’s relatives told Haaretz that the assailants attacked them with clubs. A pick-up truck later arrived at the scene carrying more settlers, including two in army trousers who were armed with M16 assault rifles.