Released for publication: Four Israeli-Arabs have been arrested by Shabak officers and security forces, on suspicion that they were involved in an attack on a reporter for the Haaretz newspaper that took place a month ago. The reporter’s car was also torched while he was in the Bedouin town of Segev Shalom, and a police post in the town was attacked with firebombs.
The four are all residents of Segev Shalom and were transferred to Shabak for interrogation last month. They have now been named: Mahran Abu Edra, Bilal Abu Edra, Karam Elkady, and Ismail Elkady. All are between the ages of 18 and 19.
The first three named were born in Israel to families with one Israeli-Arab parent and one Palestinian-Arab parent, with the Palestinian-Arab parent having qualified for Israeli resident status under the Family Reunification Law.
During their interrogation, it emerged that not only did the four participate in the attack, but they also stole items from the reporter’s car and then helped to set it on fire, after discovering that its owner was a Jew. During the course of the attack, a large number of youths and children threw stones and planks of wood at the car.
It also emerged that the four were involved in riots that took place in Segev Shalom prior to their arrest, throwing firebombs at security forces, lobbing rocks at police, setting fire to car tires, and blocking access roads.
Some of them also took part in more widespread rioting in the Negev and mixed cities in May of 2021.
Now that their interrogations are complete, they will likely be indicted for serious offenses and will be brought to trial in the Beer Sheva Regional Court.