Yehiel Indor, hospitalized; Photo credit: Free use
Tuesday, August 8, 2023, 10:00 Yesterday (Monday) Honenu Attorneys Avichai Hajbi and Nati Rom appealed to the Jerusalem District Court for the release of Elisha Yered and Yehiel Indor, two Jews who were detained after the incident Friday night when an Arab rioter was killed during an attack by Arabs on a Jewish shepherd and his friends. In the appeal, the attorneys asked the court to reduce their remand extension after it turned out that Yered is not suspected of involvement with the shooting and Indor underscored during his interrogation that he opened fire because his life was threatened. Indor is still recovering from neurosurgery in Sha’arei Tzedek Hospital. Today, the court partially accepted Honenu’s appeal and released Yered from remand.
The appeal states that according to the police, Yered did not use a weapon and therefore certainly did not open fire. Concerning Indor, the appeal states that he testified that he acted when his life was in immediate danger. These statements are reinforced by the police who did not deny in their claims that the Jewish settlers were brutally attacked. The appeal further states that there is not even the minimum amount of evidence that the crime of murder, either premeditated or negligent, was committed.
Yehiel Indor’s serious head injury; Photo credit: Free use
Yehiel Indor’s serious head injury; Photo credit: Free use
The attorneys refuted the claim that the detainees had corrupted evidence. According to the appeal, when the police officers came to Yered, he directed them to the location of the pistol at Indor’s house. “Behavior such as this indicates that there is no suspicion that Yered committed any crime. One may learn from this of his cooperation with the police,” stated the appeal. The removal of the pistol from the scene of the incident was justified by a concern that it would fall into the hands of the Arabs, and they would use it against Jews.
Another claim that arose during the appeal is that the Magistrates Court did not give adequate weight to the brutal participation of the Arabs in the incident. According to the attorneys, the representative of the police confirmed that none of the Arabs who took part in the incident were investigated even though nobody disputes their vicious attack on the Binyamin residents. The attorneys further stated that the incident lasted almost two hours and many residents were attacked. Also, even if a man lost his life, the incident must be examined from a wide perspective. In conclusion, it was claimed that the court did not examine the alternatives suggested during the hearing.
In light of all of the above, Attorneys Hajbi and Rom asked the District Court to accept the appeal, cancel the Magistrates Court’s decision, and release the two detainees. Yesterday, Channel Now14 journalist Hallel Bitton Rosen reported that authorities involved in the details of the investigation say that it will be very difficult to convict the shooter of manslaughter, and certainly not of murder, because his extremely serious injury indicates that he acted in legitimate self-defense. Additionally, Channel 12 News reported that the detainees are expected to be released from remand in the coming days. Channel 12 News reporter Moshe Nussbaum explained that because the body of the Arab rioter who was shot during the incident did not undergo an autopsy before burial, it is impossible to connect the bullet casings and the bullets that were found at the scene of the crime with the body.
The hearing on the appeal is scheduled for today at 13:00 at the Jerusalem District Court.
Background
On Friday, August 4, shortly before the onset of Shabbat, near Oz Tzion in the Binyamin region, dozens of Arab rioters attacked a Jewish shepherd and local Jewish residents who came to his assistance. The incident began when the Jewish shepherd left Oz Tzion to graze his flock in the area between Oz Tzion and the nearby Arab town of Burqa. Several Arabs approached and threatened him. The shepherd, who felt that he was in danger, summoned other Oz Tzion residents who came to stay with him and prevent the situation from deteriorating.
Dozens of Arabs armed with clubs, fireworks, and large rocks surrounded the Oz Tzion residents. The Arabs launched fireworks directly at the residents and hurled the rocks at them from point-blank range, endangering their lives. The residents called the army and civilian security forces for help. One resident was hit in the head with a rock and seriously injured. With his remaining strength, he opened fire with his legally-owned personal weapon to defend his life. Several other residents were slightly injured. According to media reports, one of the Arab rioters was killed.