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A10

WORLD NEWSMonday 4 January 2016

At Press Time: Israel charging two Jewish
Indian troops still fighting 2 gunmen at base extremists in deadly arson

Indian security men guard near the India Gate War memorial as part of enhanced security mea- JOSEF FEDERMAN Ahmad survived and re-
sures following the attack on an air force base near the country’s border with Pakistan, New Delhi, Associated Press mains in an Israeli hospital.
India, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016. A top government official says Indian troops are still battling at least JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel The attack was con-
two gunmen at the Pathankot air force base more than 36 hours after the compound came under on Sunday charged two demned across the Israeli
attack. Jewish extremists in an political spectrum, and
arson attack that killed a Prime Minister Benjamin
(AP Photo /Tsering Topgyal) Palestinian toddler and his Netanyahu pledged “zero
parents last July — culmi- tolerance” in the fight to
CHANNI ANAND pected the gunmen to be He said they were quickly nating a drawn-out inves- bring the assailants to jus-
Associated Press “neutralized” soon. engaged by Indian troops tigation into a case that tice. Investigators placed
PATHANKOT, India (AP) The attack on the and “were unable to move has helped fuel months several suspects under
— Indian troops were still Pathankot air force base toward their likely intended of Israeli-Palestinian vio- “administrative deten-
battling at least two gun- started before dawn Sat- target” of the area where lence. tion,” a draconian mea-
men Sunday night at an air urday and is seen as an the base’s aircraft and mili- The indictments came as sure typically reserved for
force base near the border attempt to undo recent tary equipment are kept. Israel said it had broken up Palestinian militants that
with Pakistan, more than improvements in the rela- Since Saturday morning, a ring of Jewish extremists allows authorities to hold
a day and a half after the tionship between archri- the base has been swarm- wanted in a series of at- suspects for months with-
compound came under vals India and Pakistan. It ing with air force com- tacks on Palestinian and out charge.
attack, a top government comes a week after Naren- mandos, troops from In- Christian targets. While Is- “Enforcing the law is the
official said. At least seven dra Modi became the first dia’s elite National Security rael’s prime minister trum- life’s breath of democra-
troops and four gunmen Indian prime minister in 12 Guard and local police. peted the arrests as a vic- cy, of the rule of law. We
have been killed in the years to visit Pakistan. The number of troops killed tory for law and order, are not restricting it to one
fighting so far. Mehrishi said Indian author- in the attack rose to seven sector and we are not fo-
The two suspected militants ities were alerted Friday af- on Sunday, with four suc- the charges drew criti- cusing on only one sec-
were discovered shortly af- ternoon about a potential cumbing to their injuries cism from Palestinians, tor,” Netanyahu told his
ter noon Sunday and hours terror attack in Pathankot, overnight and an elite com- who said they were too lit- Cabinet on Sunday.
later appeared to have and that aerial surveillance mando killed in a morning tle and too late, and from But critics have noted that
been cornered, Home Sec- at the base spotted the blast that occurred while the suspects’ relatives, lesser non-deadly attacks,
retary Rajiv Mehrishi told re- suspected militants as they he was handling explo- who claimed their loved such as firebombings that
porters, adding that he ex- entered the compound. sives, officials said.q ones had been tortured damaged mosques and
by Israeli interrogators. churches, had gone un-
While Israel has been punished for years.
dealing with a wave of And as the investigation
vigilante-style attacks by into the Duma attack
suspected Jewish extrem- dragged on, Palestinians
ists in recent years, the complained of a double-
deadly July 31 firebomb- standard, where suspect-
ing in the West Bank vil- ed Palestinian militants
lage of Duma sparked are quickly rounded up
soul-searching across the and prosecuted under
nation. The attack killed a military legal system
18-month-old Ali Dawab- that gives them few rights
sheh, while his mother, while Jewish Israelis are
Riham, and father, Saad, protected by the coun-
later died of their wounds. try’s criminal laws. q
Ali’s 4-year-old brother