Israel indicts soldiers involved in bombing homes of Palestinians

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s military said its prosecutor has filed indictments against two soldiers who allegedly hurled an explosive device at a Palestinian home in the occupied West Bank, a rare instance of Israeli troops facing serious charges over an offense against Palestinians.

The army announced that the prosecution had charged the soldiers with making an explosive device and aggravated intentionally assault. They also were accused of intentional damage to property and impeaching their investigation. The court ordered the soldiers to remain detained until a hearing next month. They were detained on Nov. 28.

According to the indictment, the defendants were motivated by revenge for the kidnapping of an Israeli schoolboy in Jenin (flashpoint West Bank) on Nov. 22.

Jenin militants of Palestinian origin had snatched the body of 17-year-old Tiran Fero, a member of Israel’s Druze Arab minorityHe was being treated at a local hospital after a car accident. Fero’s father claimed that militants removed his son from a life-support machine while his son was still alive. According to the Israeli military, he was already dead at the time that militants took him.

Alarm rose among Israel’s Druze community when the body of the boy was taken. Videos of Druze men threatened to take revenge on Palestinians were shared via social media as anger rose. Police said Druze villagers Three Palestinian laborers were even arrested and held captive in northern Israel.

Amid the standoff over Fero’s body, the two defendants — reportedly Druze soldiers — teamed up with another soldier to assemble an explosive device, the military said on Thursday. They targeted a Palestinian residence near Bethlehem, West Bank. The soldiers lobbed stones at the house. A few days later, they threw the explosive into the crowded house “with the intent of starting a fire in the home,” the military added.

The extent of damage and casualties were not known. In Palestinian media, there were no details on the family targeted.

The military stated that it would indict the third soldier within the next days. The names of these three soldiers weren’t released. The military did no immediate respond to requests for comment regarding the potential penalties.

This rapid military prosecution was extremely unusual and emphasized the severity of the case. Rights groups have long claimed that Israeli military investigations into Palestinian deaths reflect a pattern if impunity. In a previous month, Israeli human rights group Yesh Din reported that In less than 1%, Israeli soldiers were indicted for harming Palestinians in Gaza Strip and West Bank over the past five years.

As violence in the occupied territories reaches its highest point in many years, critics have accused Israeli forces of using too much firepower in West Bank. More than 150 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli military raids on Palestinian towns and cities. According to the Israeli army most of those killed were militants. Stone-throwing youths, however, protest the incursions others not involved in confrontations Also, they were killed.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry reported that 29 Israelis were killed by Palestinian terrorists using guns, bombs, and shootings in 2022. This includes both civilians and soldiers.

Most of the Palestinians were killed in Israeli military raids and fighting between the Israeli army and the Nablus cities in northern West Bank. On Friday, the Israeli military said it entered Nablus to arrest Ahmed Massari, a wanted 19-year-old Palestinian militant from the Lion’s Den group, a new militant group led by young fighters from the city.

Palestinian militants attacked Israeli soldiers and hurled explosive devices and stones at Israeli vehicles. Israeli forces responded by unleashing tear gas, live fire and other chemical weapons. The streets were lit up with gunfire, and tires were burning.

Later, the Palestinian Health Ministry reported that eight Palestinians had been injured by shrapnel bullets.

___

Majdi Mohammed, an Associated Press journalist, contributed to this report.