IDF and Judea and Samaria Police overnight Monday finally arrested five Arab residents of Burqa village in Binyamin on suspicion of involvement in the lynch attempt against Jewish shepherds last Friday afternoon.
One Arab man, 19, was killed when he and a group of rioters circled the Jewish group and were not responding to warning shots in the air. The Jewish man, Yehiel Indore, who was smacked in the head with a small boulder, was forced to shoot at the approaching attackers.
On Saturday night, during a hearing in the Jerusalem Magistrate Court, it was revealed that the Shin Bet and the police had not investigated or arrested any of the Arab rioters. The Jewish victim, who was accused of killing an Arab rioter, was not able to attend the court hearing seeing as his head had been smashed by a soccer ball-size rock. The hearing took place in his absence.
On Friday afternoon, a group of Jewish shepherds was attacked by dozens of Arab rioters with clubs, rocks, and fireworks from point-blank range.
Honenu attorney Nati Rom, who represents the victim who sustained a severe head injury, said after Saturday night’s hearing: “The injured is in intensive care and he underwent urgent brain surgery. He simply has a hole in his forehead and it’s very difficult to watch this, and to see such a person being accused of murder.”
“We are now coming out of a hearing in the Magistrate’s Court where it became clear that out of hundreds of rioters who threw stones, shot fireworks directly at Jews, and lynched and injured some of them – not even one was arrested or questioned,” Rom said.
IDF and Border Guard forces arrived at the scene of the lynch some 25 minutes after the shooting, claiming they had been alerted by “Palestinian sources.” Security officials blame the settlers whose behavior was not “normative,” since they called on their friends in the Oz Zion outpost instead of calling the army and the police. The local security coordinator reported the skirmish at 8:52 PM to the council security headquarters, which was several minutes after the shooting. Indore was evacuated by a medical corps unit at 9:10 PM with a serious head injury.
The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court on Sunday night extended by five days the detention of Yehiel Indore––who is not going anywhere, seeing as he is in intensive care in Shaare Zedek, and Elisha Yered, on suspicion of murder. The two are suspected of causing the Arab’s death intentionally or through indifference, and of obstructing investigative procedures. Their lawyer claimed self-defense.
Five days extension is a short time in capital crimes, indicating the police may be having difficulties establishing a case. Five other Jews who were detained and questioned on suspicion of similar offenses were released under restrictive conditions.
Perhaps the five Arab rioters would help the police establish a case against the Jews.
