Hundreds of Indictments Filed After Last Year’s Riots

By Hamodia Staff

YERUSHALAYIM – State prosecutors said on Tuesday that they have filed more than 600 indictments against people who committed criminal acts in the violence that erupted in mixed Arab-Jewish cities while Israel fought Hamas last May, The Times of Israel reported.

According to the report, 89% of those indicted were Arab, as in most cases the violence was carried out in rioting directed against the Jewish community.

However, the Mossawa Center, an NGO that works to protect Arab rights, claimed that figures reflect “selective enforcement” by police and prosecutors, and that those who attacked Arab citizens have not been brought to justice.

About a quarter of those charged were minors.

Meanwhile, the IDF is considering the use of attack helicopters and drones to protect troops if they come under heavy fire from Palestinian gunmen during military operations in the future, according to media reports Monday.

The report comes after a member of an elite police counterterror unit was killed when Israeli forces came under heavy gunfire during a raid Friday in the Jenin area.

Using attack helicopters would not be unprecedented. They were deployed in Yehuda and Shomron in exceptional cases in the past.

In addition, there is discussion in the military about using armed drones that can drop grenades, according to Haaretz.

The report said the drones in question were initially designed for fighting in Lebanon or the Gaza Strip, but not might be suitable for high-density population areas like Jenin.