Ex-prisoner charged with tossing stun grenade at Jaffa yeshiva

A former long-term Palestinian security prisoner admitted to tossing a stun grenade at a Jaffa yeshiva in a bid to frighten students there, the Shin Bet security service said Thursday.

Hafez Kondus, 58, was arrested on September 8, a week after he threw a stun grenade into the Shirat Moshe Yeshiva in the Jaffa section of Tel Aviv.

The grenade failed to detonate, causing no damage or injuries.

Kondus told interrogators he intended to “scare the settlers in the yeshiva” and hoped the explosion would cause the students to “sit in silence.”

He said the attack was a reaction to attempts to “Judaize” the neighborhood by increasing the numbers of Jewish residents and educational institutions.

Established in 2008, the Shirat Moshe Hesder Yeshiva has about 100 students and aims to provide “religious services” to Jaffa’s Jewish residents.

Officially part of the Tel Aviv municipality, Jaffa has a mixed Jewish-Arab population and sometimes sees ethnic tensions.

Historically neglected in favor of chic Tel Aviv, the Arab part of the city has been gentrified by Jewish residents in recent years, including “core” groups of religious Jews attempting to bolster the area’s Jewish identity.

Kondus was released from the Israeli prison service three years ago after serving 28 years for security related offenses. He was charged with and admitted to attempted murder, illegal arms trade and membership in the armed terror wing of Fatah, among other crimes.

During his incarceration, Kondus was considered one of the most influential detainees in and outside of the prison walls and became one of the leaders of the Palestinian security-prisoners.

In 1996 Kondus attempted a prison break from Ashkelon’s Shikma Prison. After a “Shawshank Redemption”-esque plan involving a escape route dug with rudimentary carving tools and dressing in women’s clothes to get past guards, Kondus was stopped just meters from the prison’s outer gates.

Known on the Palestinian street as “Batel,” meaning hero, Kundos was met by thousands of supporters on his release in 2008. Since then he has become a well-known figure in Jaffa, regularly hosting hundreds of guests in his house, according to Israel’s Channel 2 News.

An indictment against Kundos for weapons offenses and racially motivated aggression was filed on Thursday with the Tel Aviv District Court.

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