Indictments were handed down against three suspects who started a fire in a field of dry vegetation along the Jerusalem Envelope.

In the activity of border police reservists along the Jerusalem border area on Tuesday evening, June 4, 2019, the soldiers noticed three Palestinians who set fire to a field of dry vegetation near the security fence in the Sheikh Saad area in the Binyamin district. Soldiers were quick to respond, crossing the fence into the PA (Palestinian Authority) area and a pursuit of the suspects resulted. Soldiers succeeded in apprehending them.

The fire department was called, and they succeeded in bring the fire under control.

The defendant, a 22-year-old resident of Sheikh Saad, was transferred to border police. On the day following his arrest, border police forces raided and searched the homes of the two other defendants in the same village for questioning.

On Sunday, indictments were handed down against the three suspects, all residents of Sheikh Saad, and all in their 20s.

The indictment states the three were involved in the arson attack, which targeted the area some 100 meters from the Jerusalem border from the Binyamin district in Shomron. The suspects had to make three attempts until the fire actual began spreading to the field. The fire reached within 30 meters of the border fence by the time it was actually extinguished.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem/Photo Credit: Police spokesman unit)