A Jerusalem Magistrates Court judge extended the custody of two young Tapuach residents - Moshe Hershkowitz and Levy Zussman - for yet another two days. They were arrested last Thursday after they strayed into the PA-controlled village of Jaljulya, south of Ariel, and were rescued by the IDF from a raging Palestinian mob. The police plan to charge them not only with entering Area A and with trespassing (in having entered an Arab house in the village to protect themselves), but also with \"making threats.\" The prosecution\'s evidence included Arab newspaper clippings that claimed the boys were planning an attack on the village.
What actually occurred, however, was that the boys were on their way to fulfill the ancient custom of \"ascending\" to Jerusalem on foot for the Sukkot holiday, and soon found themselves facing an Arab mob preparing for another double lynching. (Two Israeli reservists were lynched in this manner in Ramallah a year ago.) Hershkowitz acted instinctively to save his and his friend\'s life by raising his weapon, and the two entered a nearby house for protection. The two boys did not allow the Arab family members to leave the house, and Hershkowitz used his cellular phone to call his friends in Tapuach, who in turn notified the IDF. Tapuach residents claim that the army was slow in reacting, and that only after they themselves evaded an IDF blockade and entered the village in an attempt to save the hikers did the army send in tanks and carry out the rescue.
Atty. Naftali Wurzberger, representing the two young hikers, said today, \"I have never heard of a case, before today, where the police relied for evidence only upon newspaper clippings - and from the PA yet.\"
Regional IDF commander Col. Yossi Adiri said that the boys acted with restraint, \"though I understand that they were very nearly lynched. It was smart of them to go inside a building, but [I would not say that] they took hostages; there were people in the house already, and this was the [boys\'] last option before they would have been harmed.\" Atty. Wurzberger said that these words show that though the army understands and justifies the boys\' actions based on the circumstances, \"the police ignore the army reports and act in a way that is totally detached from the reality on the ground...\" The Tapuach community asks that faxes be sent to Prime Minister Sharon (+972-2-670-5475) and Police Minister Uzi Landau (+972-2-581-1832) requesting that the two hikers be released from prison.
What actually occurred, however, was that the boys were on their way to fulfill the ancient custom of \"ascending\" to Jerusalem on foot for the Sukkot holiday, and soon found themselves facing an Arab mob preparing for another double lynching. (Two Israeli reservists were lynched in this manner in Ramallah a year ago.) Hershkowitz acted instinctively to save his and his friend\'s life by raising his weapon, and the two entered a nearby house for protection. The two boys did not allow the Arab family members to leave the house, and Hershkowitz used his cellular phone to call his friends in Tapuach, who in turn notified the IDF. Tapuach residents claim that the army was slow in reacting, and that only after they themselves evaded an IDF blockade and entered the village in an attempt to save the hikers did the army send in tanks and carry out the rescue.
Atty. Naftali Wurzberger, representing the two young hikers, said today, \"I have never heard of a case, before today, where the police relied for evidence only upon newspaper clippings - and from the PA yet.\"
Regional IDF commander Col. Yossi Adiri said that the boys acted with restraint, \"though I understand that they were very nearly lynched. It was smart of them to go inside a building, but [I would not say that] they took hostages; there were people in the house already, and this was the [boys\'] last option before they would have been harmed.\" Atty. Wurzberger said that these words show that though the army understands and justifies the boys\' actions based on the circumstances, \"the police ignore the army reports and act in a way that is totally detached from the reality on the ground...\" The Tapuach community asks that faxes be sent to Prime Minister Sharon (+972-2-670-5475) and Police Minister Uzi Landau (+972-2-581-1832) requesting that the two hikers be released from prison.