Israeli prosecutors indict Jewish settler minor over Samaria attacks on Palestinians

The State Prosecutor’s Office filed an indictment on Sunday against a minor for terror offenses committed against Palestinians near Beit Lid in Samaria.

The indictment attributes to the defendant a series of offenses, including a terror offense, aggravated intentional sabotage, malicious damage, and more. The Central District Prosecutor’s Office requested that the court order the defendant’s detention until the end of legal proceedings.

According to the indictment, on Nov. 11, the defendant arrived, together with dozens of other rioters, at a logistics center near the village of Beit Lid, all masked and equipped with flammable materials, clubs, and stones.

They entered the logistics center, whose gate was open, and attempted to smash the security camera at the entrance to prevent documentation of their actions. They then shattered windows using stones and clubs and set fire to trucks and vehicles belonging to Palestinian workers parked at the site.

At this point, the workers barricaded themselves inside the logistics center.

The vehicles were parked near a fuel tank and electrical cabinets, and a fire broke out. The blaze caused extensive damage to the logistics center. The defendant and the rioters attempted to break into the building where the workers had barricaded themselves, but the workers held the door shut and prevented them from entering.

The group then moved on to two additional locations, where they set fire to trucks, vehicles, and structures, damaged a water pump, and threw stones at people and buildings. They later attacked Palestinian residents with clubs and hurled stones at them.

As a result, some victims sustained severe injuries and skull fractures. Immediately afterward, the defendant and the rioters fled the area.

An IDF brigade commander spotted the defendant and two others as they fled. After a chase, the three were apprehended and detained. Soldiers handcuffed them with zip ties and placed them in a military vehicle.

After the vehicle began moving, additional rioters arrived, stole military equipment from the vehicle, and helped the other two detainees escape. The defendant also tried to flee, and continued attempting to escape even after soldiers moved him to a different military vehicle – at one point tearing off the zip ties on his hands – but the soldiers restrained him.

A dramatic rise in settler violence in Judea and Samaria has been recorded in recent months against the backdrop of the olive harvest season.

Security officials told Kan News that law-enforcement capabilities against “hilltop youth” and Jewish rioters are limited, and that this is due to a policy “directed from above” that hinders enforcement efforts.

The officials warned that without a policy change, it is only a matter of time before Palestinians are killed as a result of such riots, an outcome that could dangerously escalate the security situation in Judea and Samaria.