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Israeli police arrest father of Tel Aviv shooting suspect: Reports

Mohammed Melhem, shooting suspect's father, arrested day after he calls on son to co-operate with police
Israeli security forces search after area Tel Aviv shooting last Friday (AFP)

Israeli police have arrested the father of the key suspect in last week's shooting attack in Tel Aviv that killed two people, according to Israeli media reports.

Five others who are either relatives or close acquaintances of shooting suspect Nashat Melhem were also arrested, Israeli daily Haaretz reported.

The arrest of Mohammed Melhem, Nashat Melhem's father, comes a day after he called in the media for his son to give himself up.

Nashat Melhem's brother, Judat, was arrested of being an accessory to murder on Saturday.

Mohammed Melhem, a Palestinian citizen of Israel who has worked for the Israeli police in recent years, is expected to be brought before the Haifa Magistrate Court at midday on Tuesday to attaend a detention hearing, Haaretz reported.

Melhem on Monday spoke in Hebrew and Arabic on television to ask his son to co-operate with the police.

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