Arrest (illustrative)
Arrest (illustrative)iStock

Shabak (Israel Security Agency) and Israel Police detained for questioning seven residents of the central city of Herzliya and its environs, on suspicion that they attacked an Arab Israeli.

The seven are suspected of involvement in an nationalistically-motivated attack on the individual who lives in Tayibe, near the Sydney Ali mosque in Herzliya.

A special investigative staff from Shabak and Israel Police, operating in the Yarkon area, managed the investigation over the past month, due to concerns that the suspects were involved in crimes of incitement and attack due to nationalist motives.

In mid-May, a report was received about a person injured in a vehicle near the Sydney Ali mosque in Herzliya. The victim, a resident of Tayibe in his 60s, was moderately injured and transferred for medical treatment.

The findings of the initial investigation showed that a group of masked people attacked the individual, while spraying pepper spray in his face and stabbing him with a sharp object.

As the investigation progressed, seven people were identified as suspected of committing the act, and they were detained by Shabak and the police for interrogation. Afterwards, all of the findings were sent to the Prosecutor's Office, which submitted a statement to the Tel Aviv Magistrates Court. Indictments are expected in the coming days, as well as a request to arrest the suspects until the completion of legal proceedings against them.

"Shabak will continue to act determinedly to thwart terror and to bring to justice all those who took part in terror attacks," a Shabak statement said.