Attorney urges Shin Bet action after alleged Jaffa attack by Hilltop Youth

A lawyer claimed that the Shin Bet’s policy of relocating violent settlers to Israel proper has led to an increase in threats in mixed cities like Jaffa, endangering residents’ safety.

A lawyer has urged the Shin Bet to act after three Jews linked to the Hilltop Youth movement allegedly attacked a pregnant Arab woman in Jaffa, warning that settler violence is moving from the West Bank to Israeli cities.

Lawyer Omer Nahmani, head of the NGO Returning with Wisdom and former spokesperson for Democratic Union President Yair Golan, sent a letter to Shin Bet chief David Zini on Sunday.

He claimed that the agency’s policy of relocating violent settlers to Israel proper has led to an increase in threats in mixed cities like Jaffa, endangering the safety of residents.

Woman and children targeted by attack

The letter followed an incident in which a woman was allegedly attacked while sitting in her car with her five-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter. According to the family, three Jewish youths pepper-sprayed the vehicle, shouted threats and obscenities and fled. The woman was evacuated to Wolfson Medical Center in light condition.

Police arrested three suspects two days later. A trial court extended his pretrial detention for five days. During interrogation, the suspects admitted to being at the scene but claimed to have acted in self-defense. Police said their version of events did not match security footage, forensic evidence and eyewitness accounts.

Suspects linked to Hilltop Youth

Investigators determined the suspects were affiliated with Hilltop Youth and did not have access to the West Bank. The suspects said they were out on Saturday morning in Jaffa, felt threatened by nearby vehicles and fled the area. After making identical statements, they invoked their right to silence.

Lawyer Asaf Gonen of the Honenu legal aid group, who represents the suspects, told the court that police interrupted the suspects during their interrogation and did not allow them to respond fully. He described the event as a spontaneous altercation and not a premeditated attack.

“Jewish terrorists must be treated equally”

In his letter, Nahmani wrote: “As a resident of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, a secularist and a member of the LGBTQ community, I wish to emphasize that the Shin Bet is responsible for my personal safety and that of all residents of the city. »

He warned that the radical youth ideology of settlers poses a danger to diverse communities across Israel. “It is not possible for Jewish terrorists, expelled from the West Bank because of the threat they pose, to be transferred to Israel proper to continue endangering lives in civilian population centers,” he wrote.

“Just as a non-Jewish terrorist would not be transferred from the West Bank to Israel out of concern for public safety, the same standards must apply to Jewish terrorists. Mixed cities cannot become dumping grounds for violent extremists,” Nahmani added.

Family reports acts of intimidation

The letter was also sent amid fears the family had been targeted again, after their car was broken into days after the attack. “Another violent incident that deepens the sense of fear within our family and Arab society as a whole,” said Fadi, the partner of Hanan, the woman injured in the attack.

“It seems that some are trying to intimidate and silence us so that we stop demanding enforcement and justice. But we will not let that deter us.”

The incident occurred as Hanan was due to give birth, further amplifying the family’s feelings of vulnerability. “We don’t feel safe in our house,” the family said.