7 Israelis indicted for anti-Arab attacks

Israeli prosecutors indicted seven Israeli settlers, including a soldier for anti-Arab attacks carried out between 2009 and 2013, local media reported yesterday.

According to Arab48.com, five of the suspects, including a soldier and two minors, live in the illegal Jewish settlement of Nahliel. The names of the soldier and the minors were not revealed.

Pinchas Shendorfy, 22, who lives in the illegal settlement of Kiryat Arba, Itamar Ben-Aharon, 20, and Michael Kaplan, 20, who live in Nahliel, and Shneur Dana, 20, who lives in the illegal settlement of Ma’ale Efraim, were also charged.

Based on the indictment, the two 16 and 17-year-old settlers, the soldier and Ben-Aharon were accused of attacking an old Palestinian farmer with sticks and tear gas last year. Shendorfy was charged with attacking a Palestinian man near the illegal settlement of Nahliel.

The two 16 and 17-year-old settlers were also accused of throwing firebombs at a Palestinian house in Al-Mazraa Al-Kibliyeh village near Ramallah during the night, while the Palestinians were sleeping. They also spray-painted “death to Arabs” and “Jews wake up” on the walls of the house.

“The firebomb miraculously bounced off the wall of the house, averting a major disaster,” the Shin Bet said. A second firebomb hit a plastic table near the entrance of the house causing scorching it, but harming any of the inhabitants.

Both of them also threw Israeli army gas grenades at a Palestinian home in the village of Bitilu during the night to “avenge” the arrests of terrorists who carried out the Duma arson attack, where a Palestinian family were burnt to death.

The indictment said that “the father woke up, after that attack, from the noise and felt difficulty breathing, as well as stinging eyes.”

“He immediately evacuated his wife and baby son from the home,” the Shin Bet said. “His quick response and awareness prevented serious harm to the baby.”