The family of the Palestinian man arrested in the fatal shooting of an Israeli Jewish father and son denied that he was turned in by his father.
Shadi Mutawa, 28, a member of Islamic Jihad, was arrested on Nov. 14 and has implicated himself in the West Bank killings of Rabbi Yaakov Litman and his teenage son Netanel, according to the Shin Bet security service.
Litman, 40, and Netanel, 18, were killed on Nov. 13 while driving near the West Bank settlement of Otniel with five other family members on the way to Shabbat pre-wedding celebrations for Litman’s daughter.
A day after the arrest, the Shin Bet announced that Mutawa was turned in by his father, who feared that the family’s home would be demolished.
One of Mutawa’s uncles told the Israeli daily Haaretz that the father was detained at a checkpoint near Hebron but did not turn in his son.
The Israeli military has used the demolition of family homes of Palestinian terrorists as a deterrent against future attacks. — jta