On Sunday, 19 Cheshvan, the Military Court of Appeals in Yafo ruled that four out of the seven Nachal Chareidi Netzach Yehuda soldiers detained in mid-October will be held in remand until the end of proceeding against them.

Two soldiers were released after the Military Advocate General retracted its decision to issue an indictment against them and one of the soldiers was released and confined to his base. See here and here for more information on the case.

Judge Lieutenant Colonel Shachar Greenberg ruled that the four soldiers pose a danger and also refused to differentiate between them, despite the fact that one of them is accused of hitting one terrorist once and the others are accused of being involved with several incidents. Concerning the errors made in the investigation and the legal claims relating to the testimony of the terrorists, the judge ruled that the issues will become clear during further handling of the case and refused to seriously consider the pleas of the defense attorneys.

In response to the decision, Honenu Attorneys Avi Pinarski, Chai Haber, and Aharon Roza, who are representing the soldiers, announced that they will file an appeal.

Haber stated that, “The decision unfortunately does not deal with the central question which the defense posed: Is there actual justification for keeping the soldiers in remand, when they could be confined to their unit without coming into contact with Palestinians? It is obvious to everyone that they [the soldiers] are not criminals. Even if it is ruled that they deviated from the regulations, the very definition of them by the military court as dangerous, is in my opinion a distortion of reality which is not in line with common sense.”

Roza stated, “I listened with great interest to the decision by the court and I am of the opinion that the decision to detain my client is erroneous and carries within it the error with which the court is caught, according to which the acts were carried out together and involved serious violence or cruelty, which is contrary to the facts detailed in the indictment.”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)