Israeli settler, 17, charged with attacks on Palestinians

Prosecutors file an indictment for a string of crimes against an Israeli settler, 17, who is accused of throwing stun grenades into Palestinian homes in the West Bank and causing other damage to their property.

With the filing of the charges at the Central District Youth Court in Ramle, an undercover investigation into the attack, which happened on January 4, becomes public.

The defendant is indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit a crime for racist reasons, aggravated battery, carrying a weapon, attempted destruction of property using explosives, deliberate damage to a vehicle as well as other crimes, police say in a statement.

The defendant was a minor at the time of the alleged attack in the Palestinian village of Sarta in the northern West Bank.

He was arrested last week along with four other suspects and has been under house arrest. The other suspects are still being investigated, police say.

According to the indictment, the defendant and seven others, three of whom have yet to be identified, drove to Sarta in two vehicles in the middle of the night and entered the village on foot armed with stun grenades, large stones, and a sharp instrument.

A stun grenade thrown into a Palestinian home in Sarta in the West Bank by Israeli settlers, January 2021. (Israel Police)

The defendant is accused of throwing stun grenades into two homes as Palestinian families slept inside. Together with the others, the defendant also allegedly hurled stones at four homes and vehicles, causing damage.

As a result of the attack, a Palestinian man, 61, was injured in the forehead from broken glass and his daughter, 17, suffered a serious anxiety attack, dizziness, and confusion from the incident.