Israelis hold teenagers over fatal stabbings

Israeli police have arrested two Palestinian teenagers on suspicion of stabbing to death a Jewish couple and three of their children while they slept in a West Bank settlement.

The killings on the night of 11 March in Itamar in the occupied West Bank caused shock in Israel and drew condemnation from the Palestinian Authority that exercises limited self-rule in the area.

Police yesterday said Amjad Awwad, 19, and Hakim Awwad, 18, from Awarta, a Palestinian village neighbouring Itamar, were in custody.

Hakim was detained on 5 April and Amjad on 10 April, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.

He said the two were suspected of having killed Udi Fogel, 37, his wife Ruth, 36, and three of their five children, Yoav, ten, Eldad, four, and three-month-old Hadas.

"The two planned and carried out the attack with knives, they first killed children Yoav and Eldad before moving into the parents' bedroom and killing them and baby Hadas who was sleeping with them," Mr Rosenfeld said.

He added that the Fogel house was the second they broke into after first entering a house that was empty. They were also found to be in possession of an assault rifle and ammunition taken from the Fogels, added Mr Rosenfeld.

Nimrod Aloni, a senior military officer who commanded Israeli troops in the search for suspects in Awarta, said the killings were not premeditated but that the brothers were egged on by their own daring.

Hakim's mother, Nof, said her son was innocent and suggested he may have been pushed into a confession by pressure from the Israelis during questioning.