Two Israelis are being charged with murder in an incident the US State Department labeled an act of terrorism. But a closer look shows a very different story in which a Jew who was nearly murdered stands accused for the crime of defending himself.
Yehiel Indore and Elisha Yered stand accused of murdering a 19-year-old Palestinian man on August 4 in a clash between Jews and Arabs. The confrontation took place in a field between the Arab town of Burqa near Ramallah in Samaria. Indore was arrested on charges of homicide, but that was changed on Friday to “deliberate or depraved-indifference homicide,” an offense equivalent to murder, riot resulting in damage, conspiracy to commit a crime and obstruction of justice. The charge of acting out of “racist motivation” was removed. Categorizing the homicide as such would have allowed the court to impose harsher punishments.
Yered, who was accused of interfering with a police investigation by taking Indore’s gun back to his home following the shooting, was released to house arrest on Aug. 9.
A Palestinian man and three of his sons were detained in connection with the incident but were released on Thursday without being charged. A fifth suspect was released earlier in the week.
Indore, who sustained a major skull fracture in the incident and was hospitalized, remains in custody after a lower court granted a law enforcement request for a 10-day extension to allow for the completion of the preliminary investigation. Indore is claiming the killing was an act of self-defense, saying he shot only after he was wounded in the head. The Jerusalem District Court ruled that while Indore’s claim of self-defense is legitimate, the lower court’s decision was reasonable and does not justify intervention.
The extension ended on Tuesday when the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday ordered Indore to be released to house arrest. A request by the police for an additional eight-day extension was rejected, and they are expected to appeal the ruling on Tuesday afternoon.
The US government has labeled that killing a “terrorist attack.”
“We are greatly concerned about all the attacks that we saw in Israel, in the Palestinian territories over the weekend. We strongly condemn those attacks,” US State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller said this week. He added, “the IDF spokesperson called the attack in Burqa ‘nationalist terrorism’.”
It is important to note that the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal intelligence agency, is no longer part of the investigation. The Shin Bet includes the Department for Counter-intelligence and Prevention of Subversion in the Jewish Sector, also known as the “Jewish Department” which is dedicated to investigating right-wing nationalism. Their non-involvement suggests this is no longer considered a Jewish terrorism case.
The facts of the incident are a matter of controversy. Palestinians claim that a group of some 150 to 200 settlers threw rocks, torched cars and, when confronted by Arabs, shot the young man dead and wounded several others.
The settlers claim that a Jewish shepherd from nearby Oz Zion was attacked by a mob of Arabs when he approached within 300 meters of the Arab village. Dozens of Jews, including Indore and Yered, came to his defense from the nearby settlement. Indore fired a warning shot but was then surrounded, and only shot to kill after he was struck in the head by a rock..
“We tried to escape the whole time [but] they attacked us from several directions. People around me recited viduy [confession prayers] and Shema Yisrael because they thought it would be their death,” Channel 14 quoted Indore as saying.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement following the clashes: “Verbal confrontations ensued which were followed by the hurling of rocks by both sides, and the firing of fireworks by Palestinians.
“During the confrontation, Israeli civilians fired at the Palestinians. As a result of the confrontation, a Palestinian was killed, four others were injured, and a Palestinian vehicle was found burned. Several Israeli civilians were injured by rocks,” the military said.
A report by JNS investigative reporter Akiva Van Koningsveld cast serious doubt on widely-circulated claims that the Jewish group sought the confrontation. According to the report, the site of the incident is not visible from the town of Burqa. Maps indicate the Arab rioters had to hike approximately 500 to 700 meters (550 to 765 yards) uphill before encountering the shepherd. This implies that the Arabs left their town to initiate the hostilities and it was not a threat by the Jews that led to the confrontation.
A demonstration was held on Sunday at the entrance to Jerusaelm in support of Indore who had just been released from the hospital and placed under police custody.
“We will not allow for the victim to be blamed while the Palestinian terrorists have all been released,” the organizers said to the media.
Two protesters were detained by police.
Yered previously served as the spokesperson for Otzma Yehudit MK Limor Son Har-Malech who spoke out in defense of his actions.
“When a patrolman in Tel Aviv kills a terrorist, he is applauded by all the security forces, but when a Jew defends his life in Binyamin from an Arab mob, he is killed,” she said. “He was arrested while still wounded. I suggest that the security system direct its forces to deal with the nests of terrorism instead of persecuting the residents of Binyamin who hold on to our country with devotion.”
“The hatred by elements of the extreme left is amazing. Even a Jew who is hospitalized in serious condition with a deep head injury does not make them stop for a moment and think that he probably acted in self-defense to save his life,” said Israel Gantz, head of the Binyamin Regional Council, in whose jurisdiction the incident took place.
A group of rabbis from the Religious Zionist movement signed a letter criticizing the law enforcement establishment for their handling of the case.
“We are in an ongoing struggle for the lands of the Land of Israel with the Arab enemy who, through European funding, is taking over the lands of our country. We are amazed at the law enforcement system in Judea and Samaria that quickly arrested a severely injured Jew on charges of murder and only three days later arrested Arabs who wounded, beat, threw rocks and shot fireworks at Jews,” the rabbis wrote.
“Unfortunately, there is no search for the truth here, but an attempt to please the international community.”
“We educate our students to respect the government system. But when these systems operate unjustly, we cannot continue with a relationship of state respect for the law enforcement system.” added the rabbis.
