Fourth suspect said arrested in anti-Arab hate crime at beach

A fourth suspect was arrested over his alleged involvement in a violent hate crime targeting a group of Arab Israelis in the northern city of Haifa two weeks ago, according to reports Sunday in Hebrew-language media.

The suspect, a 21-year-old man from Kiryat Motzkin, was set to go before a judge Monday for a remand hearing.

On August 23, three Arab Israeli men from Shfaram reported that a group of around nine Jews badly beat them up after learning they were Arab.

Last week, three others were arrested for their suspected involvement in the attack. On Monday, a judge in the Haifa Magistrate’s Court released two of them to house arrest.

The three victims of the assault, Muhammad Yusifin, Muatasim Ayoub and Mawd Ayoub, said they were relaxing at the Kiryat Haim beach when they approached by a Jewish man who asked if they were Arab. When they told the man they were, he left them, but returned a short time later with nine other men who proceeded to beat the three with chains and metal bars.

The victims described the attack to media as unprovoked and nationalistically motivated.

Two passersby intervened and stopped the attack. All three Arab men were hospitalized for their injuries.

The incident was condemned by Jewish and Arab lawmakers as well as by President Reuven Rivlin. A solidarity event was held in Shfaram.