Suspect in West Bank mosque fire released

YASUF, West Bank, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- A teenager related to Israeli radical politician Meir Kahane was released hours after his arrest Thursday on suspicion of a mosque arson, his lawyer said..

Yehuda Shushan said his client was questioned for several hours without a parent present, Ynetnews reported. He said police discovered the teen had an alibi for the time on Dec. 11 when the mosque in Yasuf was set ablaze.

"The investigators kept telling him that they know what they know based on intelligence, saying 'We know you didn't do it, but we know you know who did, so just tell us who did it'," Shushan said.

In addition to the West Bank mosque being set ablaze, derogatory slurs such as "We will burn all of you" were sprayed on the building's walls.

Ynetnews said in the wake of the incident, a number of clashes occurred between area Palestinians and Israeli forces.

"This affair has enraged the Palestinian street and I hope the arrest, together with a real Israeli effort to reach the truth, will lead to the prosecution of those responsible and calm down the Palestinian street," said Palestinian official Ghassan Dargeles, who is in charge of West Bank settlements.

Kahane, a rabbi, founded the Jewish Defense League in the United States before moving to Israel, where he founded the Kach Party. He was assassinated in 1990 in New York.