Shin Bet arrests 7 for attack on Arab in Herzliya last month

The attack occurred against the backdrop of widespread rioting throughout Israel, particularly in the mixed Jewish-Arab cities of Jerusalem, Acre (Akko), Haifa, and Lod.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

Israel’s Shin Bet security agency arrested 7 Jewish Israelis for an unprovoked attack on an Arab man which took place last month, authorities announced on Thursday.

The men, all residents of Herzliya and nearby communities, are suspected of seriously assaulting an Arab man in his 60s at Herzliya’s beachside Sidna Ali mosque.

The victim, a resident of the Arab-Israeli city of Taibeh, was found wounded in his car on May 12th, during Operation Guardian of the Walls.

He was taken to the hospital in moderate condition and is still recovering from his injuries.

“The initial findings from investigations in the field indicate that a group of masked men attacked the victim, spraying him with pepper spray and stabbing him with a sharp object,” read a joint statement from the Israel Police and the Shin Bet.

“The Shin Bet will continue to operate resolutely to thwart terrorism and bring to justice all who participate in terror attacks,” the statement continued, adding that the security agency would ask the court to keep the suspects in custody until the end of the legal proceedings.

The attack occurred against the backdrop of widespread rioting throughout Israel, particularly in the mixed Jewish-Arab cities of Jerusalem, Acre (Akko), Haifa, and Lod.

Last Monday, Israeli authorities charged an additional three Jewish suspects in the mob beating of an Arab man in Bat Yam which took place in May during the same tense period.

During the clashes, two Jewish men and one Arab man were killed.

The suspected killer of the Arab , a Jewish resident of Lod who said he shot in self-defense and feared for his life, has been arrested.

The Israeli authorities have not arrested any suspects in the murder of the two Jewish men.

Yigal Yehoshua, 56, was killed in May by rock throwers in Lod.

Former head of the Israel space program, 84-year-old Avi Har-Even, died last week from injuries he sustained in May, when rioters set fire to a hotel where he was a guest.

Operation Guardian of the WallsriotsShin Bet