Rehovot resident accused of attempting to set Palestinians on fire
Rehovot resident accused of planning to throw a Molotov cocktail at a Yavne warehouse inhabited by eight Palestinians, claiming he 'is sick of them.'
Racially motivated 26-year-old Rehovot resident Igor Kaplon planned to throw a Molotov cocktail at a warehouse in Yavne inhabited by eight Palestinians.
In the indictment filed against him on Wednesday, he was charged with attempted arson with the intent to endanger life, racially motivated threats and multiple offences of threatening behavior.
The event over which the indictment was filed occurred last Tuesday. Kaplon had approached the front of the warehouse, which is situated next to a laundromat. At some point, he picked up a pavement stone, threw it at the warehouse and shouted: "Come out, you f****, I will kill you." Kaplon made to leave, but several minutes later, he approached the warehouse door again, kicked it with his foot and then turned to the laundromat. He started throwing rocks, threatening the man who was sitting inside: "You hired Arabs, come out."
According to the indictment, Kaplon continued to threaten the eight documented Palestinians, saying: "Don't come out, I will burn you right there, I'm going to bring gasoline." At this point, the man inside the cleaners had called the police.
Kaplon had apparently made up his mind to set the warehouse on fire, and so went to his nearby workplace, filled a bottle with gasoline and stuffed a rag into the bottle.
He then approached the warehouse, holding the Molotov cocktail in one hand and a lighter in the other. Before he could follow through with his plans, two police officers arrived on site. One of the officers asked him to put the Molotov cocktail down, which Kaplon did, but he made sure to ask the officers to arrest the Arabs.
The officers cuffed Kaplon and led him to the police cruiser. On the way to the police station, the defendant started acting up, threatening to hit anyone who tried to arrest or touch him. He even threatened one of the police officers that if she were to touch him, he would cut her throat.
According to the Prosecution, "the defendant attempted to commit arson with the intention to harm the complainants. Additionally, the defendant's threats of bodily harm were racially motivated. He also threatened the man in the laundromat and the police officers."
The Prosecution asked to extend Kaplon's remand until the end of the proceedings.
The indictment also stated that "during his interrogation, the defendant confessed to the acts attributed to him as well as to the racial motive, and the hostility he harbors toward the Arab community, and in particular, toward the complainants who stay and work within out borders."
