3 suspects in attack on pregnant Arab woman in Jaffa appeal to be freed from custody

Hanan Abu Shehadeh, an Arab resident of Jaffa, recounts being attacked by three Jewish assailants on December 13, 2025, in an interview with the Arab48 news outlet on December 15, 2025. (Arab48/ Screenshot)
Hanan Abu Shehadeh, an Arab resident of Jaffa, recounts being attacked by three Jewish assailants on December 13, 2025, in an interview with the Arab48 news outlet on December 15, 2025. (Arab48/ Screenshot)

The three suspects in an attack on a pregnant Arab woman are appealing the extension of their remand, after a Tel Aviv judge ordered them held in custody until Sunday.

“At this point, no objective evidence has been displayed that supports the complainants’ version. I will continue to fight for my clients’ innocence,” says the suspects’ attorney Assaf Gonen, who works for the right-wing legal aid organization Honenu.

The three are suspected of assaulting 30-year-old Hanan Abu Shehadeh while she was driving in Jaffa’s Ajami neighborhood on Saturday with her two children and mother-in-law. The assailants allegedly pepper-sprayed Abu Shehahdeh, shouted racist epithets at her and spat on her daughter.

Police initially suspected that Abu Shehadeh was attacked due to a fight over parking between her and the suspects. After having interrogated the three, police now believe the assault to have been racially motivated and planned in advance. According to Hebrew outlets, police say the suspects are part of the hilltop youth, a loose network of Jewish extremists with a history of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

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