The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court on Thursday afternoon considered police requests to extend the detention of 62 haredi suspects arrested after the disturbance in the yard of the Deputy President of the Supreme Court, Judge Noam Solberg.
By evening the detention of 44 of the suspects was extended, while some of the detainees were released under restrictive conditions. According to the police, five minors will remain in custody until tomorrow, while the detention of some of the adults was extended until next week.
In addition, the court ordered the conditional release to house arrest of 19 suspects, but acceded to the police request to delay the implementation of the decision until tomorrow.
The suspects were brought to court in small groups under heavy police security. During the hearings dozens of children outside the courtroom sang songs in support of the detainees, until Judge Tzion Sahrai ordered them removed and briefly halted the session.
During the hearing it was revealed that a police patrol car that was in the area during the disturbance did not intervene in the incident. A police representative explained that the two officers in the vehicle fled the scene because of the large number of rioters.
The police said that the forces joined additional units and only after gathering sufficient force did they act, out of concern for the safety of the officers' lives.
The police asked to extend the suspects' detention by 12 days and claimed they were identified on a bus that left the scene after the incident. They said there is footage linking them to the location as well as other investigative material that is still being analyzed.
Judge Sahrai ruled that this was "a serious and dangerous incident" and that there is reasonable suspicion of the detainees' involvement. He said that at this stage it is not possible to determine each suspect's exact role, but the court can accept the police position that the disturbance was carried out jointly and in a premeditated, organized manner. He also noted that some suspects refused to identify themselves and did not cooperate with investigators, which raises a concern of obstructing the investigation.
At the same time, the judge ordered several suspects released to six days of house arrest. In addition, the bus driver was released without any conditions after it was determined that the likelihood of his involvement in the disturbance was "slim to non-existent."
The judge criticized the police for not checking the driver's account, who said he had made the trip according to the instructions of the company marshal who employs him.
The disturbance took place last night at Judge Solberg's home, when dozens of protesters caused damage to the home's windows, his car and items in the yard in protest of Supreme Court rulings on the haredi recruitment issue. After the incident participants tried to leave the scene by bus, which was stopped by large police forces that arrived on the scene and detained its passengers until arrests were completed.