Hebron area resident and right-wing activist Noam Federman has been indicted for damaging Arab vehicles and property.

Federman, a resident of Federman Farm in Kiryat Arba, was videoed by activists of the left-wing B’Tselem organization as he and others damaged Arab –owned vehicles and property in retaliation for rock-throwing attacks against them.

Federman told police interrogators that B’Tselem edited the video to delete the portion showing how the Jews came under attack. Federman adds that he requested a meeting to explain exactly what occurred before the prosecutor moves forward with a criminal indictment but his request was ignored.

After the announced indictment Federman told the press “It is sad that in the State of Israel the victim becomes the defendant. We all know that stones were hurled at me and my family and my actions were self-defense. I plan to turn the trial into a political one challenging the IDF restraint in Yehuda and Shomron. The state’s restrain has led to the murder of Jews and we must not remain silent even if the price is a criminal indictment”.

B’Tselem’s version follows:

On Thursday, 4 December 2014, two settlers were driving near the Wadi a-Nasara checkpoint, which keeps Palestinian vehicles from entering Worshipers’ Road in Hebron, when a Palestinian youth threw stones at their car. The settlers then got out of their car and attempted pursuit. When they did not manage to catch the youth, they took their anger out on Palestinian property in the area. As captured in this video by B’Tselem volunteer Suzan Jabber, the settlers threw stones, smashing the windshields of nearby parked cars, and destroyed a few egg cartons a Palestinian grocery store owner had come to pick up at the checkpoint.

The incident in this video clip is part of the reality of living in Hebron, a reality in which soldiers and police officers stand idly by while settlers take the law into their own hands and vandalize Palestinian property. There is a staffed military post near the checkpoint, and a police post about 200 meters away. As seen in the clip, O.O., a Kiryat Arba settler who acts as the Jewish settlement’s security officer, a police car and a military vehicle arrived on the scene shortly after the two settlers reached the checkpoint. When the police car arrived, the owners of the damaged cars told the police officers that the two settlers had caused the damage, but the police did not detain them. Instead, the two got back in their car and drove off unhindered. The Palestinians later filed a complaint at the Hebron District Police.

Footage of what transpired next:

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)