Israeli right-wing activists were demonstrated in Jerusalem on Sunday evening, calling on police to release settler “hero” Yehiel Indore, who was arrested for allegedly firing the fatal shot that killed a Palestinian teen in what the United States described as a “terror attack by Israeli extremist settlers.”
The group, consisting of several high-profile right-wing organizations, protested on Jerusalem’s Bridge of Strings, blocking off the entrance to central Jerusalem. “We are coming to protest the injustice that has been done and demand Yehiel’s immediate release,” a notice calling on Israelis to attend the protest read.
Some of the organizations taking part in the right-wing protests include Honenu, Btsalmo, and Im Tirzu, among others. The protests follow Indore’s release from hospital, where he was treated for wounds suffered in the Burka clashes, directly into police custody.
The killing in Burka
On August 4, Qusai Jamal Ma’atan, 19, was killed in clashes between Palestinians and settlers near Burka, in the Binyamin region of the West Bank. Indore, along with other suspect Elisha Yered, were called to the scene by a Jewish shepherd herding his sheep some 250 meters away from the Palestinian village.
The incident, which drew an increasing number of Palestinians and settlers, lasted close to two hours before security forces were called to the scene.
Israeli settler activist Elisha Yered, suspected of involvement in the death of a Palestinian teenager near Burka, is seen in a courthouse in Jerusalem, on August 9, 2023. (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)Israel Police later downgraded the homicide charge leveled against Indore, removing an accusation of acting out of “racist motivation,” an addendum which, under Israeli law, gives courts latitude to impose harsher punishment in the event of a conviction.
Organizers are reportedly expecting “hundreds” of demonstrators to show up and have noted that it is “inconceivable that someone who was injured while defending himself and his friends is taken into custody like a common criminal.
“We will not allow for the victim to be blamed while the Palestinian terrorists have all been released,” the organizers added.
Right-wing MK claims he was attacked by Tel Aviv protesters
Elsewhere on the Right, Religious Zionist Party MK Zvi Sukkot claimed that he and his advisor were attacked in Tel Aviv while attending a party-funded series of meet-and-greets with Israelis who oppose the government’s judicial reform.
Sukkot, who said he does not believe the alleged incident is “representative of the anti-judicial reform camp,” did state that “deep hatred exists within some parts of that camp.”
“I am not talking about taking a beating, I did not come to Tel Aviv to say ‘it’s all good.’ Yes, there are a lot of disagreements,” Sukkot told 103FM. “I still think charges should have been filed and people should have been arrested for organizing road blockades.”
Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.
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