Keidar (L), and detainee’s parents; Photo credit: Honenu
Wednesday, July 22, 2020, 14:17 On Wednesday, July 22, Central District Court Judge Ido Dorian-Gamliel partially accepted the appeal filed by Honenu Attorney Adi Keidar on the remand extension of the Jewish agriculturalists detained after being brutally attacked near Ma’aleh Shomron. The remand of one of the agriculturalists was reduced to the duration of the other two detainees, and will end tomorrow afternoon (Thursday). Judge Dorian-Gamliel ruled that the remand could be shortened because only two more investigative actions remained to be carried out.
After the conclusion of the deliberation, Honenu Attorney Adi Keidar stated, “At this moment we have concluded the deliberation on the appeal we filed with [Central] District Court. The deliberation was focused and thorough. The court decided that there was no need for so many days of investigation because only a limited number of investigative actions remained to be carried out. I am pleased with the decision. The court significantly shortened the remand of the agriculturalist, and he will be brought before the court tomorrow with the other [detainees].
“I hope very much that the Israeli Police will understand the hints and see the incident in its entirety, that the injured parties are the detainees themselves, and that they will carry out a thorough investigation of the Arab [attackers] and the rising incitement in the area [of the attack].”
To recap, on Monday, July 20, two weeks after the incident, policemen from the Central Unit of the Yehuda and Shomron Police detained the injured agriculturalists, all of whom have completed army service, some of them in elite commando units, who had opened fire in self defense, on suspicion of injuring two of the Arab attackers. It should be noted that after the incident all of the agriculturalists were interrogated at the police station and gave testimony about the incident. They were released after interrogation. The following day (Tuesday), the Petah Tikva Magistrates Court extended the remand of two of the agriculturalists by two days and the remand of an additional agriculturalist by five days. Honenu Attorney Adi Keidar filed an appeal with the Central District Court in Lod demanding the immediate release of the detainees.
In the attack, which occurred in early July, hundreds of Arabs attacked a group of Jewish agriculturalists working on Jewish land near the community of Ma’aleh Shomron. During the attack, which included rock throwing and beatings, four of the agriculturalists were injured. MDA personnel evacuated them to the Meir Hospital in K’far Saba.
Yossi Dagan, the Shomron Regional Council Head, sent a letter to Major-General Moshe Bareket, the Yehuda and Shomron Police Commander, explaining that the agriculturalists were faced with an attack by a mob which directly threatened their lives, and if they had not used their weapons in self defense, the incident would have ended differently.
Honenu Attorney Adi Keidar speaking after the deliberation; Video credit: Honenu