Four Palestinians indicted for firebombing Jewish home in Sheikh Jarrah
3 men, 1 minor charged with throwing Molotov cocktails at residence of Tal Yushuvayev, sparking clashes in contentious East Jerusalem neighborhood
Prosecutors on Monday indicted four Palestinians from East Jerusalem, including a minor, for the alleged firebombing of a Jewish home in Sheikh Jarrah last month.
The Jerusalem District Prosecutor’s Office requested that the group be kept in custody until the end of the legal proceedings against them.
The suspects were arrested in the days following the attack on Tal Yushuvayev’s home, which sparked clashes in the flashpoint neighborhood after far-right MK Itamar Ben Gvir opened a makeshift office at the scene.
According to the indictment, Mu’taz Haj Mahmoud, Balal Jabari, Jamal Husseini and an unnamed minor prepared Molotov cocktails and threw them at Yushuvayev’s residence.
No injuries were reported in the fire. However, the house was badly damaged and police said an officer was lightly hurt from smoke inhalation after entering the home.
The indictment further alleges that the four were involved in additional arson attempts in the months preceding the incident.
In November, according to the indictment, the three tried to set fire to the same house, and in December, two of them set fire to and totally burned the Yushuvayev family’s vehicle.
In addition, in January, one of the defendants, along with another person, threw Molotov cocktails at the Yushuvayev family home, causing damage to property.
According to the indictment, they also took part in clashes in the neighborhood, during which they threw stones at Jews and fireworks at security forces.
The defendants are charged with a range of offenses, including arson, racially motivated malicious harm, terrorism, aggravated sabotage, using weapons for terroristic purposes, and attempted assault on a police officer.
