Damaged car; Photo courtesy of the photographer
Tuesday, April 8, 2025, 9:57 Several Arabs attacked Jews at Nahal Yitav, a stream known as Wadi Ouja in Arabic, in the Jordan Valley last Friday. A local Jewish resident was at the stream with his small children at the time. He witnessed the attack and the arrival of the police, but did not intervene. Twenty minutes after the Arabs left Nahal Yitav, the resident left with his children. As he was leaving the site, he saw the same Arabs throwing rocks and other objects at Jewish motorists driving in both directions. The resident, a soldier in the Golani Brigade, drew his weapon and fired two shots at the Arabs’ cars. His action prevented the Arab terrorists from continuing their attack. On Shabbat, police forces detained the resident at his home for interrogation.
Earlier this week, the resident was brought to a hearing at the Jerusalem Magistrates Court during which it became known that although police officers were summoned to Nahal Yitav, none of the attackers were either interrogated or detained. The Arabs simply left the site. Honenu Attorney Daniel Shimshilashvilli, who is representing the resident, said at the hearing that throwing rocks at a moving vehicle is life-threatening: “They threw rocks not only at cars driving in the lane closest to them but also at motorists in the opposite lane. This is an immediate danger of murder. [The resident] drew his weapon and did what he had been taught to do. He saw them throwing rocks and other objects. Even if he had shot them in the head under these circumstances one should shake his hand and thank him for what the police had not done. Does the Israel Police work for them?” wondered Attorney Shimshilashvilli.
Attorney Shimshilashvilli further questioned why none of the attackers were detained: “As we speak, they are corrupting the investigation. They have requested to keep the resident in remand while eight Arab suspects are free. The police are being neither balanced nor impartial. There are no grounds for extending the remand.” At the end of the hearing, he called for the release of his client and the detention of the terrorists: “I demand his release. They need to examine the incident and investigate the terrorists. The terrorists are free, and the police want to detain him?!”
During the hearing, the police requested a five-day remand extension, which Judge Anat Grunbaum-Shimon reduced to one day. An additional court hearing was scheduled for the following day. However, after the police received additional complaints from Jews who had been present at the incident, and the local council security officer testified, the police decided to release the detainee and not to wait for the hearing.
Attorney Shimshilashvilli leveled criticism at the police: “This was a scandalous incident during which a soldier in an elite unit did what the police who were summoned to the scene failed to do. The same police later detained the soldier and suspected him of crimes of which he was the victim. One can hardly believe one’s eyes. At a time of war, a soldier saved lives, repelled terrorists whom the police called ‘complainants,’ and then found himself detained. The terrorists carried out an attack, and today we found out that they had been neither detained nor interrogated, despite the evidence against them. This is a badge of shame for the police. Judge Grunbaum-Shimon sent a clear message to the investigating unit that if after the investigation there are no new developments, the soldier should be released. We welcome his release.”
Honenu Attorney Adi Keidar, who is also representing the resident, added, “The police not only did not arrest the terrorists after the first attack, they detained the resident who prevented the terrorists from carrying out a second attack. If the pistol in the first act had been taken, then it would not have been fired in the second. If the police had arrested the terrorists after the initial clash at Nahal Yitav, they would not have thrown rocks and endangered the lives of motorists afterward.”