According to Khaled Mahajneh, an attorney with the Commission of Detainees Affairs of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, Nazmi Abu Bakr, 49, a resident of the Arab village of Ya’bad, told him during a meeting in his cell that he had not confessed to killing First Sergeant Amit Ben Yigal from Golani, and called Sunday’s reports made by the Israeli media fake news.
First Sergeant Ben Yigal, 21, from Ramat Gan, was killed when a cinder block was thrown at his head during an arrest operation in Ya’bad, near Jenin. Ben Yigal was wearing his helmet during the attack, but the the huge block was heavy enough to crush his skull.
ראש הממשלה בנימין נתניהו:
״אני רוצה לשבח את צה״ל, השב״כ וזרועות הביטחון על שתפסו את הרוצח השפל של עמית בן יגאל ז״ל. אני נתתי הנחייה להרוס את ביתו של המרצח הזה. מי שמנסה לפגוע בנו – ידנו משגת אותו, במוקדם או במאוחר. בשנים האחרונות אתם רואים שזה במוקדם.״ pic.twitter.com/mFbziE6JYM— ראש ממשלת ישראל (@IsraeliPM_heb)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted Sunday evening: “I would like to commend the IDF and the Shin Bet and the security forces for capturing the murderer of Amit Ben Yigal, z’l. I have issued instructions to destroy the home of this murderer.”
Perhaps not. Attorney Mahajneh told WAFA that Abu Bakr was still undergoing interrogations at the Jalameh military interrogation center, north of Jenin, and so far has not admitted responsibility for Ben Yigal’s murder. Apparently, Abu Bakr was picked up a month ago, a short time after the May 12 murder, and he has been subject to interrogations since.
Before Israel announced Abu Bakr’s capture last Sunday, the Shin Bet announce that a DNA sample on the murder weapon, the cinder block, was being examined to identify and locate the murderer. It is possible that in the ensuing trial, should one take place, the prosecution will connect Abu Bakr to the cinder block resolutely.
According to WAFA, The entire Abu Bakr family was detained after the murder, since the cinder block had been thrown down from the roof of the Abu Bakr home. But Nazmi Abu Bakr insists that his interrogators are trying to get him to confess to something he did not do.