Wednesday, February 16, 2022, 16:33 On the morning of Wednesday, February 16, Honenu leveled sharp criticism at the Yehuda and Shomron Police for their showcase detention of youths the previous night: “Arabs throwing rocks at Jews in Hawara is an everyday occurrence, but the police detain Jews instead.” The youths were detained in Yitzhar, among other locations in the Shomron, and taken to the Central Unit of the Yehuda and Shomron District Police Station. Honenu Attorneys Adi Keidar and Nati Rom provided them with legal counsel at the station.
By Wednesday afternoon, 10 of the 19 detained youths had been released from the police station. At a hearing the same day, the Jerusalem Magistrates Court extended the remand of eight youths until Monday, February 21, and the remand of a minor until the following day. Two of the detainees gave an alibi that contradicts their being present at the scene of the incident for which they were detained.
During the hearing, a representative of the Yehuda and Shomron Police confirmed that the charges against the youths who had been released were identical to the charges against the detainees who were brought to the hearing for a remand extension. Despite that, Judge Elad Lang decided to extend their remand.
Honenu Attorney Adi Keidar, who represented the youths, leveled sharp criticism at the court: “The court extended the remand of the suspects without paying any attention to the significant claims which arose during the hearing, both concerning the inexplicable delay in the investigation and detention and concerning the differentiation between the detainees here in court and the detainees who were released.
“No explanation of the legal claims against the youths has been given. The court is blindly following the Central Unit of the Yehuda and Shomron Police, who do nothing for the security of the Jewish public and are concerned only for the well-being of the Arab public. We will appeal this decision, and I am sure that the district court will order the immediate release of the detainees.”
Honenu Attorney Nati Rom, who also represented the youths: “The detainees were traveling in a caravan of vehicles that was attacked by rock-throwing assailants. The investigative department of the Central Unit of the Yehuda and Shomron Police admits that they are not investigating at all the claims by the suspects that they were attacked, but rather they are investigating only the Jews, which does not allow for a genuine investigation and which constitutes disruption of an investigation. We hope that everything will become clear at the district court.”