Israel jails Jewish extremist for 6 months without trial
By Associated Press
Aug 5, 2015 12:54 AM CDT
Head of a Jewish extremist group Meir Ettinger appears in court in Nazareth Illit , Israel, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2015. Israel said Tuesday it was interrogating the suspected head of a Jewish extremist group in the first arrest of an Israeli suspect following last week's arson attack in the West Bank that...   (Associated Press)

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's defense minister has signed an order that will keep a Jewish extremist in jail for six months without charges or trial.

The measure, known as administrative detention, usually sees Palestinian prisoners jailed for months or years without trial.

This is the first time Israel placed an Israeli under administrative detention since it launched a crackdown on Jewish militants following a pair of deadly attacks last week.

Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon's office said in a statement late Tuesday that Mordechai Meyer was arrested in connection with "violent activities and recent terror attacks."

Last week, suspected Jewish extremists torched a West Bank home, killing a Palestinian toddler and severely wounding his family a day after an anti-gay ultra-Orthodox man stabbed revelers at Jerusalem's Gay Pride parade, killing a 16-year-old girl.