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Judge Gabai Richter’s decision
Thursday, March 13, 2025, 15:54 On Wednesday night (March 12), a soldier in the reserves was out with his wife in center-city Jerusalem. He noticed frightened people running away from an Arab who was chasing them and shouting “Allah akhbar.” The soldier considered him to be a terrorist and followed the official procedure for detaining a suspect as he approached him. The suspect did not respond to either the soldier’s warnings or the shots he fired into the air, and continued to advance in a threatening manner while shouting in Arabic at him. At this point, the soldier shot at the suspect’s legs. The police officers who arrived on the scene detained the soldier and held him overnight.
The following day, at a Jerusalem Magistrates Court hearing, the police requested a six-day remand extension for the soldier. However, Judge David Shaul Gabai Richter accepted the soldier’s testimony, and Honenu Attorney Adi Keidar’s argument that the soldiers actions were appropriate in the circumstances. Judge Richter rejected the remand request and released the soldier to house arrest. In his decision, Judge David Shaul Gabai Richter stated, “The reality of our lives, especially since the war broke out, is a harsh and tense reality in which every one of us, in their own way, is on edge.
“The proliferation of attacks carried out in various ways by lone terrorists significantly threatens the sense of security in the public sphere. For good reason, many civilians choose to carry a personal weapon for self defense and the defense of others. Nobody disputes the fact that many instances of attempted attack end at an early stage thanks to the intervention of alert, armed civilians. In this aspect, this incident is no different from other attacks. The police were correct in retracting their accusation that the soldier’s actions were racially motivated.
“Already at this stage, one may say that I have not found the conduct of the respondent to deviate from what is expected from a responsible, armed, individual. On the face of it, it seems that he had a reasonable basis to be suspicious of the man whom he shot. Therefore, even though a weapon was discharged during the incident, which is dangerous in and of itself, I reason that it is not justified to consider the respondent to be dangerous, as if he were a criminal who opened fire due to criminal motives. Therefore there are grounds to release him,” ruled Judge Gabai Richter.
Honenu Attorney Adi Keidar, who represented the soldier, stated, “The soldier, who was with his wife when he became involved in a security incident, engaged the terrorist and eliminated the threat. The soldier acted heroically and opened fire according to regulations. Unfortunately, as a result, the soldier found himself detained and under investigation.
“At a court hearing, the police requested a six-day remand extension. However, Judge Gabai Richter accepted our argument and unequivocally ruled that the soldier acted correctly, and that there had been a reasonable basis for treating the Arab as a suspect. We hope that the Israel Police will study the court’s decision, draw the correct conclusions, and take into account the sensitive security situation in Israel.”
The detainee is a Jerusalem resident, a management student, and a commando soldier in the reserves. He had been a lone soldier. On the day of the October 7 massacre, he was not in Israel. When the war broke out, he returned to Israel and served a long stint in the reserves in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, and other combat zones.