On Wednesday, two Israelis, one of whom is a former soldier, were accused of committing crimes related to the riots in which hundreds of settlers and their supporters participated last month during their attacks on Palestinian towns in the West Bank following a deadly Palestinian attack.
The accused individuals are Yedidia Siani, 22 years old, and David Oved, 30 years old. Oved is a resident of the extremist settlement of Yitzhar in the West Bank, according to Hebrew media reports that did not mention Siani’s place of residence. Siani is a soldier in the Israeli army.
The indictments were brought after a joint investigation conducted by the Israeli police and the Shin Bet security agency.
Siani was charged with committing a terrorist act under aggravated circumstances, racially motivated assault resulting in injury, racially motivated rioting, and intentional racially motivated vandalism for his role in the riots carried out by Jewish extremists in the Palestinian village of Um Safa, located north of Ramallah.
According to the indictment filed before the Central Court in Jerusalem, Siani was a member of a masked gang that attacked the village three weeks ago.
Oved was charged with committing a terrorist act for engaging in rioting that caused damage, committing a terrorist act causing specific harm, and committing a terrorist act that insults religions.
Following a deadly Palestinian attack that took place on June 20, in which four Israelis were killed by armed gunmen affiliated with Hamas, hundreds of settlers attacked Palestinian towns and villages for five days, setting fire to homes and cars, and in some cases, firing shots.
The riots resulted in the death of a Palestinian under mysterious circumstances.
Politicians, including some members of the right-wing ruling coalition, condemned the riots, but there was no clear condemnation from settler leaders.
The government pledged to hold accountable those responsible for the settlers’ attacks. Four Israelis have been placed under administrative detention for their involvement in the assaults, while hundreds were captured on video participating in the attacks.
