Honenu Attorneys Keidar (L) and Rom (R); Photo credit: Honenu
Tuesday, November 7, 2023, 15:55 An IDF combat soldier fighting on one of Israel’s front lines went on leave for a weekend at his parents’ home in Rehalim. On Shabbat (October 28), as the family was strolling just outside of their community, a group of Hamas-supporting Arabs who were harvesting olives without a requisite permit from the IDF hurled rocks at them. The soldier defended his family by firing a warning shot toward one of the rock-throwers and immediately reported the incident to the Council headquarters and his commander. Following a claim by the Arabs that one of the rioters was killed by the warning shot, the soldier was interrogated and then released to his home. The next day, he was summoned to an additional interrogation and then informed that he was detained.
Honenu fought a determined legal battle, and on Thursday, following five days of remand, the Military Court ordered the soldier released. At the conclusion of legal proceedings in his case, after all of the legal restrictions were lifted, the soldier returned to his unit on Monday (November 6).
Honenu Attorneys Adi Keidar and Nati Rom, who represented the soldier, stated, “The Military Advocate General has not requested a remand extension for the soldier, and therefore we reason that the next step will be closing the case due to lack of guilt. The soldier’s conduct on the ground was responsible, professional, and necessary under the current circumstances. We regret the lengthy remand and the investigation. We demand that this incident set off alarm bells, primarily in light of the security situation, and not weaken soldiers’ fighting strength.”