Police no longer suspect 28-year-old Yechiel Indore of a racist motive in the killing of a Palestinian during a clash last week near the Arab village of Burqa in Samaria. Nevertheless, he was moved from the hospital where he has been in intensive care since August 4, to Shin Bet custody.
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During the August 4 incident, some 300 Arabs from nearby Burqa confronted a Jewish shepherd grazing his flock near the village.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement following the incident that, “Verbal confrontations ensued which were followed by the hurling of rocks by both sides, and the firing of fireworks by Palestinians.
“During the confrontation, Israeli civilians fired at the Palestinians. As a result of the confrontation, a Palestinian was killed, four others were injured, and a Palestinian vehicle was found burned. Several Israeli civilians were injured by rocks,” according to the IDF.
According to Indore’s attorney, Nati Rom, dozens of Jews arrived at the scene, including his client, to protect the shepherd. Indore fired a warning shot but was then surrounded, and only shot to kill after he was struck in the head by a rock, said Rom.
“Anywhere else in Israel this event would have been defined as foiling an attack,” said the attorney.
According to the latest, new remand request filed by police, “racist motivation” has been removed from the charges against Indore, according to Reuters.
However, Indore still remains the prime suspect in the killing of 19-year-old Qusai Ma’atan, who was killed when he and a group of rioters circled the Jewish group and were not responding to warning shots in the air.
Indore was forced to defend himself by opening fire at the approaching attackers after his skull was split open by a small boulder hurled by the attackers.
Despite that, the Jerusalem District Court extended his custody for an additional five days on Friday.
A week ago, on Saturday night August 5, 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.
Five Palestinian Authority Arabs were arrested two days later, on Aug. 7, for suspected involvement in the clashes. They were released shortly after, subject to certain restrictions. Additional arrests were expected.
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Indore is still being charged with causing death with intent or indifference (an offense equivalent to murder), riot resulting in damage, conspiracy to commit a crime and obstruction of justice.
“There is a meaningful development that significantly links Indore to what is attributed to him and noticeably strengthens the reasonable suspicion against him,” the police representative said August 11 at the hearing.
There are serious questions about the evidence in the case, which appears to be based solely on Arab sources. There is no video footage of what took place, despite the presence of 300 Palestinian Authority rioters who usually are the first to post video footage of their escapades on social media.
Moreover, IDF Brigadier General Dan Hagari told listeners during an August 8 interview on Kol B’Rama radio that authorities are relying solely on Arab sources.
“The incident in Burqa is under investigation,” Hagari said. “I am the spokesperson of the IDF and I am providing information that is based on Palestinian Authority reports. If the residents had picked up the phone to call the army, we would not be in the midst of this incident,” he added.
דו״צ תא"ל הגרי לאדמקר וכהן: ״אירועים שדוחקים את האוכלוסיה שלא מעורבת בטרור – יוצרים עוד טרור. האירוע בבורקא נמצא בחקירה, אני דובר צה"ל ונותן את המידע המבוסס, נשענתי על הדיווח הפלסטיני. אם התושבים היו מרים טלפון לצהל, לא הינו באירוע״. @IDFSpokesperson @YakiAdamker @Israelcohen911
— קול ברמה (@KolBarama) August 8, 2023
Indore, 28, did not attend Friday’s hearing as he remained hospitalized at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem after undergoing surgery for the severe head wound sustained during the confrontation.
Elisha Yered, 22, a second suspect arrested together with Indore, was released to house arrest last Wednesday evening.
The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court had ruled earlier in the day that both suspects should be released to house arrest.
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Police appealed both decisions, but the court acceded to the request regarding Indore only.
Yered is under house arrest at his uncle’s home, where he is prohibited from using the phone. He is allowed to leave the premises only for police questioning or court dates.
The district court ruled last Tuesday that his family will be allowed to visit.
Yered is accused of interfering with a police investigation by taking Indore’s gun back to his home following the shooting.
It appears not to have occurred to police or Shin Bet agents that if Yered had not taken Indore’s gun back to his home, it likely would have fallen into the hands of the Arab attackers. The gun was legally purchased and licensed to Indore as a personal weapon.
The case has drawn sharply different reactions, with opposition politicians and left-wing activist groups quick to accuse the Jewish suspects of murder.
Labor Party leader Merav Michaeli called for the deportation of the family of the “terrorist settler” on Aug. 6, doubling down the next day after receiving pushback for her remarks from pro-settlement groups and coalition members.
“It turns out that there are those who don’t like the fact that I said that the Netanyahu coalition is a party of terrorism supporters. So I’ll take this opportunity to say it clearly one more time,” Michaeli tweeted on Aug. 7.
Benny Gantz, head of the opposition National Unity faction, spoke on Aug. 6 of the development of a “dangerous Jewish nationalist terrorism.”
Israel Gantz, chairman of the Binyamin Regional Council, criticized the rush to judgment.
“The hatred among elements of the extreme left is amazing. Even a Jew who is hospitalized in serious condition with a deep head wound does not make them stop for a moment and think that he probably acted in self-defense, to save his life,” he said.
“They give automatic backing to the terrorism that threatens us every day on the roads, in the settlements and everywhere,” he said.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, head of Otzma Yehudit, tweeted on Aug. 6, “The Israeli media (again) got confused: a Jew who defends himself and others against … Palestinians is not a murder suspect but a hero who will receive my full support.
“There may be some who are confused about which side they are on— I’m not confused. Always on the side of my people, certainly when the danger of death hovers over the head of a Jew who is required to respond with determination and heroism,” he said.
JNS.org contributed to this report.
