Police officer and two IDF officers, one a reserve colonel, arrested on suspicion of attempted murder

A police officer and two IDF officers, one of them a reserve colonel, were arrested yesterday on suspicion of attempted murder that took place about a month ago, the Police Internal Investigations Department, known by its Hebrew acronym as Mahash, said today (Tuesday). The three are relatives, and the reserve colonel is the father of the police officer, a Border Police fighter.

According to suspicion, the police officer was involved in a fight with a person from the Abu Arar family that developed after a road dispute in the Negev about three months ago. The officer did not want to file a complaint for fear of getting into trouble, and Mahash says that about a month and a half after the fight, the officer, his father and his nephew, who live in the Bedouin diaspora, joined together and tried to murder the victim by shooting him in the back. The police officer denies the allegations against him.

The three were brought before the Beersheba Magistrate's Court for a hearing on the extension of their detention. The police officer's detention was extended by nine days, and the detention of the two other suspects was extended by three days.

Attorney Uri Ben Natan, who represents the suspects, said: "The suspects deny taking part in the shooting of the victim, who was shot in the back. Indeed, there is an allegation that one of the suspects, who is a Border Police fighter, was attacked by the shooting victim a month and a half before the incident because of a near car accident, but the fighter, who was taken to the police station, asked not to file a complaint so as not to escalate the conflict. From what I understand, the victim's family has many disputes and it is possible that the attacker was not from the Abu Suleb tribe and not in connection with the attack on the police officer, a month and a half before the incident."

More on the subject: On suspicion of contact with an Iranian agent, a Lahav 433 police officer is being questioned by Mahash. An officer with the rank of colonel is being questioned on suspicion of a sexual offense against a female officer.