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Police arrest 20 Arabs who targeted multiple synagogues in one city

Israeli forces found stolen property from synagogues in Modi’in Illit while arresting one of the suspects.

By World Israel News and TPS

The police announced they have arrested an Arab who is suspected of breaking in and stealing from synagogues in the city of Modi’in Illit, the latest in a series of 20 arrests.

The police stated Sunday that as part of its increased activity together with the IDF in Modi’in Illit to locate and apprehend suspects in a series of break-ins, an Arab resident of Beit Einan was arrested for breaking into synagogues in the city.

During a search of his home and vehicle, Israeli forces located stolen property from synagogues in the city and additional property suspected of being stolen from other locations.

“The operational and focused activity of the police forces and security forces against the recent break-ins and thefts in the city of Modi’in Illit has so far led to the arrest of about 20 Arabs on suspicion of involvement in the break-ins and thefts in and around the city,” the police said.

The developments in Modi’in Illit followed the arrest at the end of the week of Lod’s top Muslim cleric was arrested Thursday on suspicion of incitement to violence and terrorism following complaints to the police by right-wing MKs.

Sheikh Yousef Albaz had posted to Facebook Tuesday a video clip from a movie showing a villain murdering two police officers with the caption: “The best way to deal with injustice.”

Religious Zionist Party MKs Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir immediately asked the police to investigate, leading to the imam’s interrogation and detainment by the Lahav 433 serious crimes unit, Israel’s rough equivalent to the American FBI.

The sheikh, who regularly delivers sermons in Lod’s Grand Mosque, is connected to the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement, which Israel outlawed in 2015 due to its close ties with Hamas and the Moslem Brotherhood.

In an interview with World Israel News last week in the aftermath of the violent clashes, Lod resident Ayelet-Chen Wadler specifically pointed to the cleric’s ongoing incitement.

“We still hear the [local] Imam Sheikh Albaz in the mosque calling for more violence against the Jews,” she said.