Honenu Attorney Shimshilashvilli; Photo credit: Honenu
Thursday, August 28, 2025, 14:28 The Petah Tikva Magistrates Court released seven of the eight Yehuda and Shomron residents who were detained over the past few days by the GSS and the Israel Police. They were detained while protesting GSS persecution of Yehuda and Shomron residents. The remaining detainee is currently not allowed to meet with an attorney, although he has already met with the Honenu attorney representing him. Honenu Attorneys Asaf Gonen and Daniel Shimshilashvilli are representing the eight detainees.
Attorney Asaf Gonen stated, “This incident has been exaggerated beyond all proportions. Moreover, we argue that not only is there no evidence connecting the suspects to the offenses they were alleged to have committed, but the evidence in the case exculpates them. We will continue to fight until the innocence of our clients is accepted.”
Attorney Shimshilashvilli added, “As we insisted from the very first day, the GSS made a mountain out of a molehill. Our uncompromising legal battle led to the release of the detainees. I hope that the GSS will cease using the extreme interrogative measures intended for terrorists against Jews suspected of minor offenses. My clients held a legitimate demonstration protesting the persecution of Yehuda and Shomron residents by the GSS. The demonstration did not even begin to approach the level of violence regularly seen at protests on Kaplan Street. This case is more proof of the extent to which the law enforcement authorities discriminate against Yehuda and Shomron residents.”
Unusually, the case is being handled by investigators from the Jerusalem District Police. In the past, similar cases that involved detainees from the Yehuda and Shomron regions were handled by investigators from the Yehuda and Shomron Police. The irregularity is apparently in reaction to recordings recently broadcast in the public media. In the recordings, the head of the Jewish Department of the GSS is heard instructing the Yehuda and Shomron District Commander to make detentions without evidence and violate the law in other ways. The department head also described Jewish Yehuda and Shomron residents in derogatory and defamatory terms.