The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court ordered the release of three settlers who were arrested on Sunday after riots near Ataret, after the police requested that their detention be extended by five days. Attorney David Halevy of Honenu: "This case illustrates the intolerable ease with which law enforcement agencies make false arrests."
The settlers were arrested on suspicion of damaging Arab property in the village of Um Safa in Binyamin last Saturday, after severe riots perpetrated by the villagers against Jews living in the area. At the hearing, the police asked to extend the detention of the three men by five days, but the court rejected her request and ordered their conditional release.
Damage caused by settlers in Palestinian village of um Safa // Arab networks
As you may recall, the riots of the settlers began after the terrible attack on Ali. After settlers smashed windows and burned vehicles in Lubban a-Sharqiya on the night between Wednesday and Tuesday and set fire to houses in Turmus Aya, dozens of settlers arrived last Saturday at the village of Um Safa, where they caused extensive damage to Palestinian property and homes in a village northwest of Ramallah. One of the rioters, a soldier on leave, was detained for interrogation. Masked Palestinian youths from the village came out to confront them and the forces deployed there. They threw stones and set an Israeli security force vehicle on fire.
In his decision, Justice Zion Sahrai noted, among other things: "The respondents were arrested without an arrest warrant, despite the fact that the material on the basis of which the request to extend the detention was filed has been in the possession of the police since Saturday." Sahrai further emphasized that "an examination of the material shows that there is no reasonable suspicion justifying the continued detention of the respondents."
Car damage in the village of um Safa, photo: Arab networks
Attorney David Halevy said: "This is an outrageous, unnecessary and casual arrest without an arrest warrant, of three completely normal young men who did nothing. The court commented, upon receipt of the material, that there was insufficient evidentiary basis and ordered their immediate release in a decision that speaks for itself. This case illustrates the intolerable ease with which law enforcement agencies make false arrests."
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