An Arab threatened a Jewish shepherd this week at a farm in the Hebron region.
When an IDF force arrived at the scene, the Arab attempted to attack them, and retreated only after the soldiers fired in the air. The Arab was arrested by police, but released a few hours later.
Attorney Haim Bleicher from the Honenu legal aid organization wrote to the Hebron police station and demanded that they arrest the Arab. He described the sequence of events: “On 15.01.2024, near the Mizpe Yair farm, in the farm’s pastures, an Arab suspect with a few goats arrived and began to approach my client, while waving a pickaxe at him. My client retreated and called for the army. An army force that arrived at the scene was also attacked, in that the suspect advanced towards them waving the pickaxe.”
“Only after the soldiers fired in the air did the suspect drop the pickaxe, and was arrested by the soldiers. He was arrested, and my client visited your station to file a complaint. For reasons that remain unclear, the suspect was released that same day on bail.”
“This is a serious incident of attempted significant injury of my client with a deadly weapon while he was pasturing sheep by himself. The suspect continued his attempts to attack the soldiers with the pickaxe and was arrested only after shots were fired in the air. Releasing such a suspect constitutes an immediate mortal danger and the threat of serious violations of the law and public order. I request that you arrest him again and bring him to justice as soon as possible.”