Judge: Not enough evidence to convict mosque arson suspect

A Petach Tikvah judge gave police five days to produce evidence that a West Bank Jewish man burned a mosque in northern Israel.

Magistrate Court Judge Nitza Maimon agreed Tuesday to extend the 18-year-old suspect’s remand until Sunday, but said there is not enough evidence now to convict him of the Oct. 2 torching of the main mosque of the Upper Galilee Bedouin-Arab town of Tuba Zanghariya. The suspect, who is from northern Israel, reportedly studied at a West Bank yeshiva. He was arrested hours after the arson attack.

The judge said that if no new evidence is produced, she will order police to release the suspect.

A second suspect has been arrested in connection with the attack. Few details have been released about the second suspect, who reportedly is a resident of the West Bank. He appeared Monday in a Tel Aviv court and his remand extended.

Both suspects are suspected of “direct involvement” in the arson attack, Israel police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told news agencies.