Arabs charged with assaulting Jews in Jerusalem’s Old City

Three suspects arraigned in court for assaulting Jewish worshippers during the Purim holiday.

By World Israel News Staff

Preliminary assault charges were filed against three Arab residents of Jerusalem who are suspected of attacking two Jewish worshippers in the Old City of Jerusalem over the Purim Holiday last Sunday, the news website Kikar Shabbat reported Thursday.

Earlier this week, Israeli police arrested three suspects, aged 23, 19 and a 17-year-old minor, all residents of the eastern side of Jerusalem.

The two Jewish men were walking near past the Bab al-Majles neighborhood in the center of the Old City when they were reportedly attacked by a number of young local Arabs. A team of Israel Border Police officers who were in the area saw the melee and rescued the two, while the attackers fled.

A joint search by Israel Police detectives and Border Police tracked down the assailants, who were arrested and taken in for questioning. A court ordered their remand in custody, and three days later, the police asked to extend their detention until a formal indictment is filed next week. However, the report said, the judge refused the request and ordered the suspects released.

There have been at least three other attacks in the capital in the past month by Arabs against Jews. On February 23, police intercepted an Arab resident of the Tzur Baher neighborhood who threw away a knife as police approached, admitting later that he intended to stab Israeli security forces.

On February 2, an Arab terrorist attacked and stabbed an ultra-Orthodox student near Saleh a-Din Street outside the Old City, but the the victim managed to fend off his attacker while sustaining a light injury to his hand.

During the snowstorm in Jerusalem in February, a gang of Arab youth pelted two ultra-Orthodox men with snowballs outside of the Old City and then chased and beat the two – later posting a video of the attack on social media.