Honenu Attorney Nati Rom; Photo credit: Honenu
Monday, January 29, 2024, 15:23 Yesterday (Sunday), the police detained five Jews on suspicion of damaging trucks transporting humanitarian aid to Gaza at the Nitzana Crossing. During interrogation, the detainees denied all charges and presented a video clip to the police proving that they had not been present during the incident. Nevertheless, at a hearing this morning (Monday) at the Be’er Sheva Magistrates Court, the police requested a ten-day remand extension for the detainees. The court refused and extended the remand by only one day. Honenu Attorneys Nati Rom and Daniel Shimshilashvili are representing the detainees.
Honenu Attorney Nati Rom leveled sharp criticism at the police: “This is a genuine blood libel. My clients vehemently deny the assault charges and involvement in any other illegal activities. All that they did was record the incident and publicize the fact that the ‘aid trucks’ were designated for UNRWA, which is effectively an arm of Hamas. Just yesterday, statements by the head of the GSS citing that 70% of the aid ends up in the hands of Hamas, the murderous enemy, were revealed. The police conduct in the case is scandalous. Immediately after the detention of my clients and before they had even been interrogated, the police issued an anomalous announcement that they had been detained. The announcement cited their place of residence and that they would be brought to a hearing on the extension of their remand. They had not yet been interrogated. This is not how an organization that seeks the truth acts.
“This is a baseless attempt to frame suspects. We are pleased that the court accepted our claims and reduced the remand extension of our clients to only one day, despite the request by the police for a ten-day extension. Additionally, our clients presented a video clip to the interrogators proving that they were not present at the incident. However, the clip was not included in the file that the police presented to the court.”
Honenu Attorney Daniel Shimshilashvili added: “The court’s decision speaks for itself. One would expect the police to strive for an honest investigation and not detain my client based on his association with a specific group and vague suspicions that have no connection to reality. I am certain that my client’s innocence will be quickly proven. We will continue to work toward his release to his home and family as soon as possible.”