Israeli Supreme Court Releases Two Settlers Suspected of Killing Palestinian Maatan

Elisha Yered, 22, (right), handcuffed on his way to the Jerusalem Court, is one of two settlers suspected of involvement in the killing of Qusai Maatan. (AP)
Elisha Yered, 22, (right), handcuffed on his way to the Jerusalem Court, is one of two settlers suspected of involvement in the killing of Qusai Maatan. (AP)
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Israeli Supreme Court Releases Two Settlers Suspected of Killing Palestinian Maatan

Elisha Yered, 22, (right), handcuffed on his way to the Jerusalem Court, is one of two settlers suspected of involvement in the killing of Qusai Maatan. (AP)
Elisha Yered, 22, (right), handcuffed on his way to the Jerusalem Court, is one of two settlers suspected of involvement in the killing of Qusai Maatan. (AP)

The Israeli Supreme Court released the two suspects accused of killing 19-year-old Palestinian Qusai Maatan and placed them under house arrest.

The court strongly criticized the police and intelligence services for not providing enough evidence, saying it did not meet the minimum standard required to establish the crime of manslaughter and that evidence submitted by the Shin Bet did not justify extending the detention.

Accordingly, Judge Zion Saharai decided to release the two settlers and transfer them to house arrest.

The police representative announced at the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court hearing that a "pathology report in Arabic" was issued about the autopsy of Maatan's body and that the police received a copy of it, including new information about the victim's shooting.

The new intelligence information changes the situation and justifies the request to extend the detention for a relatively long period.

Initially, the court extended the settlers' detention for five days, and the police charged them with causing death either on purpose or by negligence, a felony equivalent to murder, without aggravated circumstance, and obstruction of justice.

They later added nationalistically motivated arson to this list.

The defense lawyers of the suspected settlers appealed to the High Court, which postponed the release of Elisha Yered to house arrest and kept him in custody.

Judge Tamar Bar-Asher ruled that Yered should be released to house arrest because "no substantial evidence gathered thus far establishes reasonable suspicion."

The police asked to delay the settler's release until the appeal at the Supreme Court.

During the Supreme Court session, the Shin Bet provided confidential material.

However, Judge Rut Ronen refrained from including them in her ruling, saying the evidence presented by the police to prove that Yered obstructed the investigation into Maatan's death did not justify his continued detention.

Yered, who lives in the Ramat Migron settlement, is a former spokesman for Knesset member Limor Son Har-Melech of the Otzma Yehudit party, led by Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir.

Yered is a "central target" for the Shin Bet.

The second suspect, Yehiel Indore, will stay in custody due to injuries sustained during the attack. The court will consider extending his detention later, noting that he is the central suspect in the fatal shooting, and the charge of obstructing the investigation has been added to him.

Israeli forces arrested four Palestinians suspected of attacking the settlers during the incident and will likely be brought to a hearing for an extension in the coming days.

According to local sources in Burqa, settlers stormed last Friday the western and northwestern parts of the village under the protection of the Israeli army forces while the villagers rushed to defend their lands.

The sources stated that the settlers brought livestock during the raid, indicating their intention to seize lands to establish a "pastoral settlement."

They pointed out that the settlers burned at least two cars during the attack.



‘Deterring Aggression’ Operation Escalates Northern Syria Frontline

Turkish military reinforcements in Aleppo and Idlib (Turkish Media)
Turkish military reinforcements in Aleppo and Idlib (Turkish Media)
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‘Deterring Aggression’ Operation Escalates Northern Syria Frontline

Turkish military reinforcements in Aleppo and Idlib (Turkish Media)
Turkish military reinforcements in Aleppo and Idlib (Turkish Media)

At least 57 people, including 31 Syrian soldiers and 26 fighters from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and other groups, were killed in clashes after an attack by HTS and its allies on government positions in northern Syria.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the deaths occurred during a military operation, called “Deterring Aggression,” launched by HTS and its allies early Tuesday.

The group said the goal was to “expand safe areas for the return of our people.”

Fighting factions quickly captured more than 17 villages and towns in western Aleppo countryside after intense clashes with government forces, leaving them just 10 kilometers from Aleppo city.

In response, the Syrian government sent reinforcements and launched hundreds of shell and rocket strikes on civilian and military sites in the area.

Syrian and Russian warplanes also carried out 22 airstrikes, some targeting HTS positions in Idlib.

HTS, along with smaller opposition groups, controls about half of Idlib and its surroundings.

This area is designated a de-escalation zone, where a ceasefire has been in place since March 2020 under an agreement between Moscow and Ankara.

However, the region regularly sees sporadic clashes and airstrikes from Damascus and Moscow.

In related news, Türkiye has sent a large military reinforcement to the Euphrates Shield area, controlled by its forces and allied Syrian National Army factions in Aleppo, as well as to its positions in Idlib.

This comes amid rising tensions with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the offensive by HTS on Syrian army positions in Aleppo.

A Turkish military convoy entered the Euphrates Shield area from the Bab al-Salama border crossing in northern Aleppo on Wednesday. The convoy included trucks carrying heavy weapons, tanks, and armored vehicles to a Turkish position near the town of Mariamin, north of Aleppo.

On Tuesday, Turkish reinforcements arrived at Mount Zawiya in southern Idlib, part of the Russian-Turkish de-escalation zone.

The convoy, which entered through the Kafr Lousin border crossing, included around 50 vehicles, mostly artillery and tanks. These forces were stationed at a base near the frontlines with Syrian army-controlled areas.

The reinforcements arrived amid rising tensions along the frontlines with the SDF in Aleppo, military escalation by HTS in the city, and increased Syrian army activity in Idlib.

In one development, the Manbij Military Council, part of the SDF, launched a raid on positions held by the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army near the village of Umm Jlood in eastern Aleppo, part of the Euphrates Shield zone.

Clashes also took place near al-Hamran village in western Manbij, and the Syrian National Army shelled the villages of Umm Jlood and Arab Hassan.

Additionally, two fighters from the Turkish-backed Sham Legion were killed, and three others wounded in a raid by the SDF in the Kafr Khashir area north of Aleppo.

The northern Aleppo countryside saw exchanges of shelling between the SDF and Turkish forces on Monday near the Mareh axis and Tuesday near the Harbel axis, with shells landing near a Turkish base in Tel Malid village, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.