After an indictment was filed against them last week, the trial of five “Netzach Yehuda” soldiers who were accused of beating two Palestinian collaborators who held them as detainees was opened on Monday morning, February 4, 2019. The five are charged with offenses of aggravated abuse and serious injury.

At the start of the trial, the soldiers denied the charges and claimed they had not abused the collaborators. Attorney Merav Hershkowitz-Yitzchaki of the Military Advocate General, who represents some of the defendants stated: “They were called upon to carry out an impossible mission – to accompany those who assisted in the murder of their two best friends in the company.”

The attorneys of some of the accused fighters claimed at the start of the trial that they had a psychiatric opinion that spoke of the soldiers’ difficult mental state. The fighters claimed: “The indictment is inflated; the military prosecution did not investigate all those involved. These are outstanding soldiers without a similar past,” added attorney Hershkowitz-Yitzchaki.

Attorney Chaggai Ben-Dov, who represents some of the accused fighters, said he would not object to the extension of the soldiers’ detention in an attempt to speed up the investigation. “We will not object to their continued detention, not because of the facts of the indictment, or because the prosecution thinks the combatants are dangerous,” he said. A judge of the military court recommended bridging the case.

“It is inconceivable in the world that an indictment be filed against combatants who were in operational activity,” he told Walla News. The father of one of the fighters sais “Our children did not steal weapons did not steal an army jeep and sold it to some Bedouin, did not take part in a fight in the club with some guys, it was a mistake that occurred during operational activity.”

The father of the soldier criticized the decision that his son and his friends would protect the Palestinians who helped the terrorist who murdered their friends. “After the difficult incident they went through, they did not see a security officer, did not talk to them, but immediately returned to operational activity. You have to remember that these are children, all at the time when they have two dead friends and another friend who lies in a hospital in a difficult situation, the more they try to show that they are strong, difficult worse things happen to them. ”

The two defense attorneys representing some of the fighters, attorney Ben Dov and attorney Hershkowitz-Yitzchaki, stated: “This indictment does not describe the situation in which the soldiers were caught. During the hearing we heard the judge proposing mediation. This indicates the nature of the indictment, if the composition of the tribunal has already been proposed at the beginning of the mediation hearing – this indicates the evidence upon which the indictment is based. We will be happy to hear what you have to offer and respond accordingly.”

One is reminded the soldiers had just lost two fellow combatants in the Givat Assaf Junction terror attack in Shomron, an attack that claimed the lives of Nachal Chareidi soldiers Yossi Cohen HY”D and Yuval Mor Yosef HY”D.

In addition, a third member of their unit, Netanel [Ilan ben Shaina Tziporah] Felber, was critically wounded by gunfire to his head and is still in need of Rachmei Shomayim.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)