Gang of Tel Aviv minors charged for spate of racial attacks

The Tel Aviv district prosecutor has brought charges against 11 minors for a series of racially motivated assaults on Sudanese and Eritrean migrants, it was announced Thursday.

The youths, who cannot be identified because of their age, are accused of carrying out a spate of random attacks over the last month in the Hatikvah neighborhood of south Tel Aviv. According to the charges, filed Wednesday, the gang would roam the streets looking for African asylum seekers to target.

In some incidents the youths used clubs, bars, and chains to assault their victims, robbing them of their possessions. In at least one incident, the victim required medical attention.

Some of the accused were also charged with breaking into a migrant-run shop and stealing items worth NIS 2,000.

The Justice Ministry highlighted the racial motivation behind the alleged crimes, an element that could greatly increase the severity of any eventual sentences.

The alleged attacks were apparently hatched in response to recent media reports of crimes, including rape, committed by African migrants living in south Tel Aviv. Tensions between local residents and foreign subjects have been strained and recent demonstrations have ended with violent confrontations and arrests.

The state prosecutor asked that some of the accused be held in detention and that restrictions be placed on the movements of the others, due to the nature of their crimes.