Arab Israelis, Palestinians charged with murder of Jew

According to the charges, the seven defendants identified Yigal Yehoshua as being Jewish during riots in Lod last month, before attacking his car with stones, one of which allegedly broke through the windscreen and hit the victim in the head, crushing his skull

AFP|
Five Arab Israelis and two Palestinians were charged Thursday with the "racially motivated" murder of an Israeli Jew, whose car was stoned during riots that accompanied last month's Gaza conflict.
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  • The May 11 killing of Yigal Yehoshua, 57, a resident of the mixed Jewish-Arab city of Lod, came a day after Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas began firing rockets at Israel following clashes in annexed east Jerusalem between police and Palestinians.
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    יגאל יהושע
    יגאל יהושע
    Yigal Yehoshua and a footage of the lynching
    (Photo: Police PR)
    Israel pummeled the densely populated Palestinian enclave with retaliatory air strikes, prompting Arab riots in several Israeli cities, including Lod, and clashes with far-right Jewish extremists.
    On May 10, Mussa Hassuna, an Arab Israeli resident of Lod, was shot dead after allegedly throwing stones at Jews in the city.
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    Friends and family members of Yigal Yehoshua, who died after succumbing to his wounds sustained in an attack by Arab lynchers in the mixed city of Lod, wear Jewish prayer shawls during the mourning period following Yehoshua's death, in Moshav Hadid, Israel May 23, 2021
    Friends and family members of Yigal Yehoshua, who died after succumbing to his wounds sustained in an attack by Arab lynchers in the mixed city of Lod, wear Jewish prayer shawls during the mourning period following Yehoshua's death, in Moshav Hadid, Israel May 23, 2021
    Friends and family members mourn the death of Yigal Yehoshua, who died after succumbing to his wounds sustained in an attack by Arab lynchers in the mixed city of Lod
    (Photo: Reuters)
    Following Hassuna's funeral, Arab youths lit fires at the side of the road in an industrial part of the city "to force vehicles to slow down", to be able to identify the ethnicity of their drivers.
    "Once the youths confirmed that there were Jews in the car, they informed the defendants and others so those would stone it," the charge sheet said.
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    ההפגנות בלוד
    ההפגנות בלוד
    Rioters in Lod during the civil unrest that spread to Israel's mixed cities
    (Photo: Oz Mualem)
    According to the charges, the seven defendants - one of them a relative of Hassuna - identified motorist Yehoshua as being Jewish, and "threw stones with force and from a short range at his car".
    One of the stones allegedly broke through the windscreen and hit Yehoshua in the head, crushing his skull and causing "severe brain damage", the charge sheet said. He died six days later.
    The seven, who are all in custody, were charged with "murder as part of an act of terror".
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    הנאשמים בבית המשפט
    הנאשמים בבית המשפט
    The men accused of murdering Yigal Yehoshua in court
    (Photo: Yariv Katz)
    They were also charged with "throwing stones in an act of terror", "racially motivated damage to a car," as well as obstructing the course of justice after trying to damage surveillance cameras.
    The two Palestinians involved were also charged with being in Israel without a proper permit.
    Several people were arrested in connection to the shooting of Mussa Hassuna, but no charges have yet been filed.
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