http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/13/world/middleeast/israel-palestine-tensions.html 2014-11-12 14:15:40 Israeli Police Officer Arrested in Connection to Killing of 2 Palestinian Teens Further charging tensions in the region, a mosque in the West Bank was damaged in a suspected arson attack and a firebomb was thrown at a synagogue in northern Israel. === JERUSALEM — An Israeli border police officer has been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the fatal shooting of two Further charging the atmosphere at a time of heightened Israeli-Palestinian tensions and religious friction, a mosque in a Palestinian village in the West Bank was damaged overnight in a suspected arson attack and a firebomb was thrown at a synagogue in an Arab village in northern Israel, the police said. In the The teenagers were at the site of intermittent clashes between security forces and Palestinians marking “Nakba,” the Arabic word for “catastrophe,” a reference to the day the state of Israel was established in 1948. The teenagers did not appear to be engaged in violent or provocative behavior at the time they were shot. Palestinian health officials determined that the teens, Nadeem Siam Nawara, 17, and Mohammad Mahmoud Odeh Salameh, 16, were killed by live ammunition. Human rights groups have said that an autopsy confirmed the use of live bullets. An Israeli military spokesman said at the time of the events, however, that a preliminary inquiry did not indicate the use of live fire, but added that investigations by the military and the police were continuing. Shay Hakim, a spokesman for the border police, said on Wednesday that a police officer had been arrested on Tuesday as part of the investigation. He and other Israeli officials did not provide more details. The Near Ramallah, the Israeli police entered the Palestinian village of Mughayer on Wednesday to investigate reports of a fire at a mosque. A police spokesman, Micky Rosenfeld, said a search for suspects was underway. Another mosque in the village was set alight and damaged in 2011. Faraj al-Naasan, the mayor of Mughayer, said by telephone that the fire was discovered about 3.45 a.m., and he described it as “a criminal act.” “There is no doubt that it is the doing of settlers,” he said. Mr. Naasan said the fire damaged walls and a library. Unlike previous cases of arson against mosques, no Hebrew graffiti was apparent at the site. The timing of the fire, after a series of deadly Tensions have also spiked in Arab towns in northern Israel after a police officer The burning of the mosque and the firebombing of the synagogue come at a time of simmering tensions fueled in large part by a dispute over a On Tuesday, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority warned that a religious war would lie ahead if Israel allowed Jewish prayer at the revered plateau, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has repeatedly said that he is committed to maintaining the status quo at the site, which allows Jews to visit but bans non-Muslim prayer. Yaakov Peri, a centrist Israeli minister and a former chief of Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency, strongly condemned the attacks on the mosque and the synagogue, describing them as “brutal.” “I hope that the security forces and the police will bring those terrorists to court as soon as possible,” he said at a meeting with international reporters.