Impounded car belonging to youths suspected of “price tag” incident released

Monday, July 30, 18:09 Today, the car belonging to two Shilo Bloc residents detained a week and a half ago on suspicion of planning a “price tag” incident was released from impound. Although Arabs had attempted to car-jack the car, the two Jewish youths in the car were detained and the car impounded by the police in order to examine the possibility that the owners were involved with planning a “price tag” incident.
One and a half weeks ago, late Thursday night, two Jewish youths, residents of Gush Shilo in the Binyamin region, were driving home on Route 60. When they approached the area of Shilo an Arab vehicle blocked their path and 10 masked Arabs jumped out. The youths succeeded in escaping and reached the outskirts of the Arab village Kfar Duma, near Shilo, where they were forced to abandon their car and escape on foot when they reached a dead-end. The Arab vehicle continued to chase them.
The youths succeeded in separately reaching communities from which they called Shilo’s head of security. He called the army and after a search the car was found in Kfar Duma, damaged after suffering an accident.
When the two youths tried to report the car-jacking attempt to the police who arrived on the scene in response to the head of security’s call, they chose to detain the two youths on suspicion of planning a “price tag” incident. The police took the youths to the Ariel Police Station where they spent the rest of the night. In the morning they were taken to the Petah Tikva Magistrate Court where the police requested that their remand be extended by four days. According to the police, the youths attempted a retaliatory incident on Arabs during the first day of Ramadan, which was liable to greatly increase tension in the entire area and possibly beyond it. In response to a question by Honenu attorney Adi Kedar, who is representing the youths, as to whether any items commonly used in “price tag” incidents were found in the car, the police admitted that no such items were found.
Judge Shlomit Jakubowicz rejected the demand made by the police and ordered that the two youths sign on bail and that a third party sign on bail of a large sum in addition to an additional cash bail and a restraining order banning them from the Shomron for two weeks.
Despite the release of the detainees and despite the fact that the police admitted that no items, such as inflammable material, spray paint or placards, were found in the car indicating that the two youths were planning a “price tag” incident, the police continued to impound the car until now, claiming that they had to thoroughly examine it.
As stated above today the police released the car after performing all possible examinations and found no evidence connecting the two youths to a “price tag” incident or planning thereof.