The lawyers - Adi Keidar, Naftali Wurtzberger and Uri Keinan - are providing legal counsel for the youths who were arrested last week following the destruction of Kfar Darom. Though almost all of the thousands of youths who were forcibly removed from the various communities last week were shipped out of Gaza and allowed to go home, those atop the synagogue in Kfar Darom were placed under arrest.
Of the 250 who were arrested, some 60 minors have been released, and the others will be brought before a judge tomorrow. MK Gila Finkelstein (National Religious Party) intervened on behalf of the minors, and even paid the 500-shekel bond demanded for the release of five of them whose parents were not there.
The destruction of Kfar Darom was accompanied by a mini-battle atop the roof of the synagogue, during which an unidentified substance was thrown onto the soldiers and police below. Several of the latter were hospitalized, and were released the next day. It was immediately publicized that the substance was acid - an allegation that the resistors hotly denied. MK Michael Eitan, too, later said that the substance was definitely not acid - after two days of media reports to the contrary.
A police official then said that the substance was caustic soda, a substance that can cause burns. He based this determination mainly on the fact that on the roof were found pails of caustic soda, including some that were empty. The official admitted that what was found on the clothes was a basic material "of the type of caustic soda," but that it could not be identified because it had evaporated.
Prof. Mati Lifshitz, a doctor who specializes in poisons, treated the injured policemen when they arrived at Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva. He said the substance was not caustic soda: "It could be that they had caustic soda, but I don't think they used it - at least not for all those people who came to us. Caustic soda can cause severe burns, [but] they came with some kind of little blister and allergic reactions that do not apply to caustic soda."
What was caustic soda doing on the roof in the first place? The lawyers say that it is often used for the glue used in sticking large posters to walls - an activity in which the Gush Katif protestors were often involved.
Mrs. Miriam Goldfisher, mother of one of the youths arrested in this incident, has investigated the matter in depth, and is at the forefront of the campaign showing that the allegations are untrue. MK Eitan, Chairman of the Knesset Law Committee, has invited her to appear at the committee's session this Sunday.
Of the 250 who were arrested, some 60 minors have been released, and the others will be brought before a judge tomorrow. MK Gila Finkelstein (National Religious Party) intervened on behalf of the minors, and even paid the 500-shekel bond demanded for the release of five of them whose parents were not there.
The destruction of Kfar Darom was accompanied by a mini-battle atop the roof of the synagogue, during which an unidentified substance was thrown onto the soldiers and police below. Several of the latter were hospitalized, and were released the next day. It was immediately publicized that the substance was acid - an allegation that the resistors hotly denied. MK Michael Eitan, too, later said that the substance was definitely not acid - after two days of media reports to the contrary.
A police official then said that the substance was caustic soda, a substance that can cause burns. He based this determination mainly on the fact that on the roof were found pails of caustic soda, including some that were empty. The official admitted that what was found on the clothes was a basic material "of the type of caustic soda," but that it could not be identified because it had evaporated.
Prof. Mati Lifshitz, a doctor who specializes in poisons, treated the injured policemen when they arrived at Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva. He said the substance was not caustic soda: "It could be that they had caustic soda, but I don't think they used it - at least not for all those people who came to us. Caustic soda can cause severe burns, [but] they came with some kind of little blister and allergic reactions that do not apply to caustic soda."
What was caustic soda doing on the roof in the first place? The lawyers say that it is often used for the glue used in sticking large posters to walls - an activity in which the Gush Katif protestors were often involved.
Mrs. Miriam Goldfisher, mother of one of the youths arrested in this incident, has investigated the matter in depth, and is at the forefront of the campaign showing that the allegations are untrue. MK Eitan, Chairman of the Knesset Law Committee, has invited her to appear at the committee's session this Sunday.