The suspect was arrested in Tel Aviv in connection with the mass demonstration on Saturday night.
By David Isaac, World Israel News
Police in the area of Tel Aviv arrested a man on Saturday night who they say is a suspect in damage caused to the Trump fountain in the city of Petah Tikvah on June 29.
The suspect was arrested in Tel Aviv in connection with the mass demonstration against the government’s coronavirus policies. When questioned, police connected him to the incident at Trump Square in June, police said in a statement.
The fountain in Donald Trump Square in the Israeli city of Petah Tikvah turned red as if running with blood on June 29 when red paint had been poured into it.
The perpetrators, anti-government activists, were protesting against the sovereignty plan of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as evidenced by graffiti on the ground in front of the fountain with the words “annexation will cost us blood.”
Petah Tikvah’s mayor at the time ordered security camera footage collected and a complaint filed against the vandals.
“The vandalization of public property is a nefarious act, which must be ripped out by its roots,” said the mayor, Rami Greenberg.
“We as a municipality will act to exhaust all proceedings against the vandals, in both the criminal and civil spheres… Every person who paints graffiti we can find. We will be sure to file complaints against them with the police – even civil suits – in order to place upon them the financial damages caused by the destruction they sowed on public property.”
At the time of the vandalism, U.S. negotiators were in Israel discussing the sovereignty plan with Netanyahu and his advisers.
Netanyahu wants to extend Israeli sovereignty over 30 percent of Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley as provided for in Trump’s Mideast peace plan.
The Trump Square in Petah Tikvah was inaugurated in June, 2019 in gratitude for the president’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
“Israel never had a president who is as supportive and helpful as US President Donald Trump,” Mayor Greenberg said at the unveiling. “It is only fitting to name a major square in the fourth-largest Israeli city after him.”