The Central District Attorney’s Office filed a criminal indictment against David Sharf, 41, of Eilat, for a series of arson offenses, as reported by YWN-Israel.

According to the indictment, the defendant decided to attack Israeli citizens belonging to the Arab sector, and to set fire to their property as a sign of revenge for the security situation in Israel.

The indictment describes how two weeks ago the defendant set fire to an Arab-owned souvenir shop in the Old City of Jerusalem. One day after the arson, the defendant called his relative and told him that he intended to “burn Arabs” because he claimed, “they are burning us,” referring to fire kits and balloon bombs sent into southern Israel from Gaza.

A relative of rushed to update the police about the conversation, and the defendant was interrogated by the police and distanced from Eilat for 15 days.

Two days after the incident, the defendant allegedly set fire to three additional locations, a field near the IDF base in Nachal Sorek, an olive grove next to a residential building in the Arab Beit Tzefafa neighborhood of Jerusalem, and vegetation near other buildings and residences in Jerusalem.

The request for detention stated that “the potential damage inherent in the respondent’s actions is intensified by the location of the ignition sites, including near a military base and a field of thorns that ignites easily and in the heart of a city…”

The prosecution requested that the defendant is held without bail pending the outcome of his trial.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)