Five Palestinians, including two minors, were arrested early Monday on suspicion of involvement in a deadly clash with settlers in the West Bank town of Burqa near Ramallah over the weekend which resulted in the death of a young Palestinian man.
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According to police, the five individuals are suspected of aggravated assault and additional arrests are expected.
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Mourners carry the body of 19-year-old Qusai Matan who was killed in a clash with settlers near Ramallah
(Photo: AP/Nasser Nasser)
Immediately following the incident on Friday, police detained Yechiel Indor from the settlement of Ofra who is suspected of the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Qusai Jamal Matan and who himself sustained a head injury. Elisha Yarad, a former parliamentary advisor to Otzma Yehudit MK Limor Son Har-Melech, was also apprehended.
According to an IDF probe, Indor, a shepherd, arrived with his herd from the wildcat outpost of Oz Zion to an open area adjacent to Burqa around 7:00 PM on Friday where a confrontation developed with a group of Palestinians, during which Indor is suspected of shooting and killing Matan.
The first IDF and police force arrived at the scene about two hours later after settlers failed to report the incident. According to the IDF, the incident on Friday took place in private Palestinian land a few hundred feet from the first line of houses in the Palestinian town, and about a mile as the crow flies from the houses in the outpost.
Indor received backing from several coalition lawmakers, as well as from National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who argued Sunday that Indor should be granted a citation for his actions. "My policy is clear. Anyone who defends themselves from stone-throwing should receive a citation", wrote Ben-Gvir on X.
Alongside Indor, Elisha Yarad was also arrested. Both are suspected of causing death intentionally due to racial motives, a crime equivalent to murder under West Bank law, and they were remanded to custody for five days.
The settlers involved in the incident claimed they were attacked first. As per their account, Indor was struck in the head by a stone and "used his personal weapon in his final strength."
According to them, "dozens of rioters armed with rods, firecrackers and stones attacked the settlers, who called security forces and civilian forces for assistance. The rioters fired firecrackers directly at the settlers and threw stones from point-blank range. One of the settlers was struck in the head by a stone at point-blank range and was seriously injured. With his last strength, he managed to defend himself by using his personal weapon, which he holds a license for."