Mother of detainee; Photo credit: Honenu
Thursday, July 23, 2020, 10:47 The mother of one of the Jewish agriculturalists detained two weeks after they were brutally attacked by hundreds of Arabs has called for the immediate release from remand of her son and the other detainees. Honenu Attorney Adi Keidar, who is representing the detainees, filed an appeal for their release: “This was a serious incident which ended in a miracle.” On Thursday, July 23, the detainees will be brought for an additional deliberation in their case to the Petah Tikva Magistrates Court.
The mother explained how her son and his friends are being investigated as defendants, even though they are the victims of the attack. “Two and a half weeks ago he was the victim of a brutal attack. Hundreds of Arabs simply tried to physically get rid of him. My son is a law-abiding man, an honest man. He was in an elite army unit. I trust his judgment and I know that what he did on that hill-top, he did for his friends, so that no-one would be injured.
“But they did want to kill him. An Arab came with a pickaxe and tried to impale his head with it. At the last second his friend saw what was happening and shot at the Arab. That’s what saved my son. I don’t want to think about it. The outcome could have been completely different, but thank G-d I still have a child.”
“I want the public to know about this incident. Of course its in someone’s vested interest for no-one to know about it and no-one to hear about it, but today, in the State of Israel, there are three young men in remand and being investigated instead of being given emotional therapy for the trauma they experienced. They are under interrogation. As a mother I am crying out for my son, and my only thought is that I am fortunate to have a son for whom to cry out.”
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 to defend their lives, the incident would have ended differently.
Knesset Member Betzalel Smotrich addressed Amir Ohana, the Minster of Public Security, concerning the police conduct in the case, and stated that this was not the first time that the Central Unit of the Yehuda and Shomron Police had implemented “an outrageous policy against Jews who were saved by a miracle from lethal injury. The victim turns into the accused, while the Arab rioters are barely interrogated, and certainly not detained.”
The detainees, agriculturalists, are residents of Nof Ayalon, Talmon and Dolev. One of them is a married father of five children. All of them have completed compulsory army service, some of them in elite commando units, and none of them has a criminal record. In early July, hundreds of Arabs attacked the detainees and four other 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. The agriculturalists were forced to protect themselves by opening fire in self defense. After the incident it was reported in the Arab social media that two of the attackers had been injured.
Mother of detainee; Video credit: Honenu