Israeli convicted for ‘terrorism’
The Magistrates Court of Jerusalem convicted Shahar Dvir Zeliger of membership in a “terrorist organisation” which planned attacks on Arab civilians.
The court’s decision on Wednesday is considered a historic one by Israeli lawyers because it marks the first time an Israeli court has convicted an Israeli Jewish person of belonging to an organisation seeking to attack Palestinian civilians and infrastructure.
Dan Eldad, the Israeli prosecutor in the case, told Israeli media that “This is the first time an Israeli court has ruled that there are Jewish terrorist organizations aiming to hurt innocent Arab civilians, especially children in schools.”
“This is a worrying phenomenon, due to the fact that the terrorists wanted to transfer the conflict and violence to various schoolyards,” he added.
According to the Israeli daily Haaretz, “Over the course of the past three years, at least two Jewish terrorist groups operated in the territories. One specialized in shooting attacks. The second, which did not kill anyone, placed explosive devices at Palestinian schools and in crowded areas”.
The paper also reported that Zeliger took investigators to a weapons cache of guns, anti-tank rockets, and ammunition, which were hidden in caves and stored for further attacks against Palestinians.
“According to suspicion, the weapons were used to murder Palestinians in vehicles on West Bank roads,” the paper concluded.