“If I kill one of [the human rights activists] it’ll be over. But that isn’t legal,” he said. “We need to deter [the human rights activists]. They need to be made fearful. They need to receive a blow.”
+972 reports:
The Jewish extremist who allegedly attacked Rabbis for Human Rights head Arik Ascherman last month was indicted two weeks ago, charged with causing grievous bodily harm and possession of a knife and ammunition. The youth, 17 years old, is suspected of assaulting Ascherman near the settlement of Itamar as the rabbi was assisting Palestinians with their olive harvest.
Israel’s Channel 10 news conducted an interview with the suspect [please see the above video], himself from Itamar, after he was released to house arrest last Friday. His back turned to the camera to protect his identity, he accused human rights activists of being the source of tension his area, saying there needs to be “deterrence.”
“If I kill one of them it’ll be over. But that isn’t legal,” he said. “We need to deter them. They need to be made fearful. They need to receive a blow.”
Even the Channel 10 report, which did not appear to have sought a comment from Rabbi Ascherman, notes that given the severity of the charges against the youth, it is surprising that he was released to house arrest. His comments during the interview do little to assuage concerns over his release.
So why was he allowed to proceed under house arrest? According to Channel 10, one of the reasons is the fact that he knew members of the Fogel family, Itamar residents who were murdered by Palestinians four years ago.
The massacre of the Fogel family was likely a terrible experience for the suspect, yet it seems like a bizarre — and frankly irrelevant — reason for him to have been released to house arrest when he is being charged with assault and possession of illegal weapons.…
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