Israeli- Arab boy abducted as financial leverage, probe finds
Police confirms initial suspicions that Kalansuwa six- year- old was a pawn in family’s monetary dispute
Six- year- old Karim Jumhur was kidnapped from outside his home in Kalansuwa near Netanya last month as leverage in a financial dispute involving his family, police said Tuesday with the completion of its investigation into the circumstances of the kidnapping.
Jumhur was kidnapped July 10, and police found him and returned him to his family three days later. Police arrested four residents of Lod on suspicion of involvement in the abduction, and their remand has repeatedly been extended since at the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court.
The Central District Police unit said that upon receipt of the report of the boy’s kidnap, investigators made contact with members of the Arab sector while trying to locate the boy and return him to his family.
The investigation found that prior to the abduction, a number of suspects linked to the abduction were in contact over debts of the Jumhur family.
According to the police, the suspects met at a compound in Airport City and stole license plates from a vehicle that was parked there. Later, upon their arrival in the Triangle area, they replaced their license plates with the stolen ones and drove towards the Jumhur family’s home. There, in the presence of another 10- year- old family member, they abducted the boy and forced him into the vehicle; this was caught on video.
The investigation also revealed that the day Jumhur was kidnapped he was taken to the West Bank, where he was held for several days until his return to his family.
The State Prosecutor said Tuesday he intended to file an indictment against the suspects and a request to detain them until the end of the legal proceedings for offenses of kidnapping, extortion, forgery of vehicle identification, dismantling of vehicle parts, and conspiracy to commit a crime.
“The Israel Police will act against any violator of the law until he is brought to trial in order to allow safety for the normative citizen. As part of the campaign to eradicate crime and at the end of a complex and intensive investigation, the Israel Police has completed its investigation into the kidnapping of the minor from the Triangle,” the police said in a statement. “The Israel Police will not allow offenders to turn children into pawns in disputes, and will act against anyone who acts violently in order to protect the citizens of the country at any place and at any time.”