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Photo:
The BB gun allegedly fired by a settler of 18 damages a Palestinian taxi's windshield, on August 24, 2016. Credit: Courtesy of Israeli Police Spokesperson

Published by Haaretz on Sept 5, 2016
Published by Maan News on Sept 4, 2016
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by Yotam Berger for Haaretz | Sept 5, 2016

Suspect's lawyer says his client was barred from seeing an attorney for four days. Security services say the suspect has admitted to the shooting which punctured the vehicle's window.

Israeli security forces lifted a gag order on Sunday on their arrest of an 18-year-old settler last week and his indictment on suspicion of shooting BB gun at a Palestinian taxi.

The shooting damaged the car's windshield, but caused no injury. Police and the Shin Bet barred the suspect from meeting with a lawyer for four days.

Police said the suspect, Moshe Yinon Oren, of the Givat Ronen unauthorized outpost in the northern West Bank, perpetrated the crime on August 24, while driving an ATV.

Magazines of plastic bullets were found in the suspect's his home, as well as gas balloons, a slingshot, spikes to puncture tires.
The suspect has admitted involvement in the crime during his interrogation, security forces said.

Itai Rozin, the suspect's lawyer said "this is a young man soon being drafted to the IDF, who felt endangered as a result of reckless driving on the part of the complainants, and he used a toy gun, a BB gun.

"This isn't a price tag action, and even the indictment does not accuse him of having racist motives," Rozin said, referring to a violent act of vengeance by settlers.

"It's not right for his place of domicile to lead to a decision for the Shin Bet to investigate and to bar him from meeting a lawyer, and under a gag  order, as though this was a serious incident. If A young man from Tel Aviv or Herzliya wouldn't be questioned by the Shin Beth or barred from seeing a lawyer."

A number of lawyers who represent Israelis suspected of crimes with racist motives, most are kept from meeting a lawyer before they are questioned.

The Shin Bet and Justice Ministry have several times refused to say how many times they have barred detainees form meeting with their lawyers in recent years.
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Extremist Israeli settler indicted for minor charges after opening fire on Palestinian vehicle

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- A right-wing extremist Israeli settler who chased and opened fire on a Palestinian taxi last month has been arrested over minor charges with no accusations being made in the indictment of "nationalistic motives" for his actions.

According to a statement from Israeli police spokesperson Luba al-Samri, 18-year-old Moshe Yanon Orin from the illegal Israeli settlement outpost of Givat Aroussi was detained on Aug. 28.

An Israeli-issued gag order placed on the case was lifted on Sunday.
Israeli police and Israel’s general security service the Shin Bet arrested “the extremist right wing activist,” for being suspected of attempting to “harm the life of a human,” al-Samri said.

Orin stands accused of firing shots from an air handgun at a Palestinian taxi on Aug. 24, smashing its rear windshield. No injuries were reported.
The statement added that police officers who inspected the suspect’s home found air pistol that was allegedly used in the incident, air gun ammo, several propane tanks, an empty 5.56 ammunition clip, a slingshot, and a metal box with tire-piercing spikes.

The suspect reportedly admitted during interrogation that he went to Route 60 near the illegal Yitzhar settlement crossroads south of Nablus and fired shots from an air handgun at a Palestinian taxi and fled the scene.

The suspect was indicted on Sunday on suspicion that he “endangered the life of a human” and his remand was extended until another decision is made.

Israeli news site Ynet said the indictment explained that Oren was driving an ATV as a Palestinian taxi cab driving the opposite way. At a certain point, the cab diverged from its path, allegedly forcing Oren to turn away, onto the side of the road. The indictment claims that Oren then made a U-turn, chased the cab -- in which five Palestinian were riding -- pulled out his air gun, fired, and broke the rear window.

“Prosecutors came to the conclusion that the motive for the incident could not be discerned to have been necessarily related to nationalistic sentiment, and so Oren was indicted merely for the crime of firing at a vehicle,” Ynet reported.

Ynet quoted Oren's attorney as saying: "This is a young guy ahead of his (Israeli army) enlistment, who felt (he was in) danger as a result of the wild driving by the plaintiffs and used an air gun, which is a toy gun. This is not a 'price tag' action."

The Nablus area is home to several settlements who have gained a reputation for being home to extremists who regularly carry out attacks on Palestinians and their property, known as “price tag attacks.”

The attorney added, "It's inconceivable that my client's place of residence would lead to the decision to have the case investigated by the Shin Bet, and (the decision) to bar him from seeing an attorney, while severely and continuously doing harm to his basic rights."

The minor charge came as many Palestinian activists and rights groups have accused Israel of fostering a “culture of impunity” for Israeli settlers and soldiers committing violent acts against Palestinians.

Meanwhile, recent drive-by shootings carried out by Palestinians on Israeli targets have seen the suspects extrajudicially executed, their homes demolished, and their entire hometown blockaded by Israeli forces, where uninvolved residents had their work permits revoked.

According to Israeli NGO Yesh Din, over 85 percent of investigations into violence committed by Israeli settlers against Palestinians are closed without indictments and only 1.9 percent of complaints submitted by Palestinians against Israeli settler attacks result in a conviction.

Yesh Din spokesperson Gilad Grossman told Ma’an in May -- ahead of the release of a Jewish extremist arrested in the wake of a deadly arson attack that killed three members of the Palestinian Dawabsha family in the occupied West Bank last summer -- that the dearth of adequate policing by Israeli forces in the West Bank is largely due to lack of ability as well as willingness to address ideologically-motivated crimes against Palestinians.

Attacks by settlers are often carried out under the armed protection of Israeli forces who rarely make efforts to protect Palestinians from such attacks.

Over 500,000 Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank in violation of international law, with recent announcements of settlement expansion provoking condemnation from the international community.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), there were a total of 221 reported settler attacks against Palestinians and their properties in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem in 2015.