JERUSALEM, Dec 25, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Israel on Thursday arrested a
Palestinian man in connection with the murder of a Jewish settler in the
occupied West Bank, in a case that raised tensions in the area.
Esther Horgan, a 52-year-old mother of six and a French-Israeli dual
national, was found dead Monday in a forest near the Tal Menashe settlement
in the north of the Palestinian territory.
Relatives said she had gone out jogging on Sunday and never returned.
A statement from Israel’s domestic security agency, the Shin Bet, said: “a
suspect in the murder of the late Esther Horgan… has been detained,”
following a coordinated effort involving the agency, the army and police.
It described the detained man as “a Palestinian suspect from the Jenin
area,” who it said was being interrogated by Shin Bet agents.
Israel’s army said in a statement later Thursday that its soldiers in the
same area had “apprehended additional suspects involved in the murder for
further questioning”.
“A number of suspects have been apprehended for assisting and facilitating
the murder of Esther Horgan” following the joint operation over the past two
days, an army official was quoted as saying.
Defence Minister Benny Gantz said Israel had “used every means at the
disposal of the Israeli security forces to swiftly find and take into custody
a suspect in the shocking murder of Esther Horgan”.
Earlier this week, the army had reinforced its presence in the West Bank in
response to surging tensions partly linked to Horgan’s murder.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Monday that Israel would “settle
accounts” with Horgan’s killer and President Reuven Rivlin visited her family
earlier Thursday.
All Jewish settlements in the West Bank are regarded as illegal by much of
the international community.
But the settler population has grown in recent years.
There are currently some 450,000 Jewish settlers in the West Bank, living
among an estimated 2.8 million Palestinians.
Tensions between Palestinians and Jewish settlers in the West Bank have
repeatedly led to violence.