7 Extremist Jews Indicted for Terror Plot Against Palestinians
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Seven members of an alleged extremist Jewish terror cell were indicted in an Israeli court.
The cell, including an Israeli soldier and two minors, are accused of setting Palestinian vehicles on fire, throwing firebombs at Palestinian homes and assaulting Palestinians. They also are charged with membership in an illegal organization and causing grave bodily harm. They were indicted Monday in Petah Tikvah District Court.
The seven were arrested earlier this month in a joint operation of the Shin Bet security services and the Israel Police.
The alleged attacks took place in the Gush Talmonim area near Ramallah. In addition to confessing to the crimes, some of the cell members reenacted their actions at the scenes of the attacks, the Shin Bet said.
The Shin Bet described the cell as “extreme and violent” and said it “systematically harmed Palestinians and their property, with full knowledge that human lives could be harmed, even after the result of the arson attack on a home in Duma.”
The July firebombing of a Palestinian home in the West Bank village of Duma killed a Palestinian baby and his parents, and seriously wounded his brother. The Shin Bet said the attack was an “inspiration” to the suspects.
The suspects have been identified as an IDF soldier in the Netzah Yehuda infantry battalion whose name is under a gag order, Yisrael Shendrofi, from the settlement of Nahliel, his brother Pinhas, Michael Kaplan from Beit Shemesh, Itamar Ben Aharon from Jerusalem, Shneor Dana from the settlement of Ma’ale Efraim and two minors whose names are being withheld from the public.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
