Court Backs Release of Mispallelim at Kever Yehoshua

Lod District Court on Monday afternoon rejected a police appeal against the release of the mispallelim who were attacked after a visit to Kever Yehoshua last week, and criticized security forces for not arresting a single one of the Arab rioters.
Judge Nava Bechor ruled that the decision of the Magistrate’s Court to unconditionally free the mispallelim and the determination that no crime was committed was acceptable to her, that since the entrance to the village and the Kever are permitted, their behavior does not constitute a criminal offense.

“Since there is no prohibition to enter Area B, including the village Kifl Hares, it is impossible to attribute an offense to the defendants, when it is only the local residents’ behavior that turned to riot and stone-throwing while yelling ‘slaughter the Jews,’ wrote Judge Bechor in her decision.

“In this issue no specific response was received to the puzzlement expressed by the defense counsel, as well as by the court: Why were none of the rioters there arrested, and instead only the defendants were?”

Attorney Chai Haber of the Honeinu organization welcomed the court’s decision: “As long as there is no legal prohibition to enter a certain area, the police and army must protect citizens who come there to daven. For this reason, there exist the security forces — to arrest terrorists and criminals, not citizens who have broken no law and only sought to exercise their right to pray”.