A teacher and several assistants at a supervised daycare center in the yishuv of Beit Aryeh in the northern Shomron were arrested for suspected abuse of babies and toddlers, the police announced on Monday morning.

According to reports, after the police received a report of abuse at the center, they reviewed security camera footage that revealed serious suspicions of abuse, including physical violence, against helpless babies.

The suspects, residents of Beit Aryeh in their 20s to 40s, were transferred for interrogation. The director of the daycare was also detained for questioning, and the police are expected to request an extension of their detention in court later on Monday.

Beit Aryeh is a secular yishuv established in 1981 with 60 families, most of whom were employees of the Israel Aerospace Industries. It was later recognized as a local council, and in 2004, it merged with the yishuv of Ofarim and is now known as the Beit Aryeh-Ofarim local council. About 1,250 families live on the yishuv.

In a separate case, an abusive aide from a daycare in Netanya has been convicted of over 60 horrifying incidents of abuse against babies aged seven months to eighteen months old.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)