Ex-aide of Israeli lawmaker remanded in custody over killing of Palestinian youth

JERUSALEM, Palestine - A former aide to a lawmaker within Israel's ruling coalition was remanded in custody on Sunday over suspected involvement in the killing of a Palestinian youth in the West Bank.

According to a statement issued by the Israeli police, two Israeli settlers are suspected of being involved in the killing of 19-year-old Qusai Jamal Maatan. The incident occurred late Friday when armed Israeli settlers entered the village of Burqa near Ramallah and clashed with local Palestinians.

The two settlers have been arrested in connection with the attack, the police said.

One of the suspects, Yehiel Indore, a 22-year-old resident from the Israeli settlement of Ofra, sustained a head injury from villagers' stone-throwing and was sent to Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem.

The other suspect, Elisha Yered, acted as the spokesman for Limor Son Har-Melech, an ultranationalist lawmaker of the Jewish Power party, until April.

The Jerusalem Magistrate Court extended the arrest of the two suspects by five days.

The Palestinian Health Ministry blamed the Israeli settlers for the killing of Maatan, stating that the death of the young Palestinian was caused by settlers' gunshots.

Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir, also the leader of the Jewish Power party, expressed support for the suspects, saying they acted in self-defense. "My policy is clear. Whoever defends himself against stone-throwing should be rewarded by the IDF (Israel Defense Forces)," Ben-Gvir said in a statement.

The State Department of the United States on Saturday "strongly condemned" the killing in a statement as "a terror attack by Israeli extremist settlers," urging "full accountability and justice." - XINHUA