An attorney has urged the Shin Bet to act after three Jews linked with the Hilltop Youth movement allegedly attacked a pregnant Arab woman in Jaffa, warning that settler violence is being shifted from the West Bank into Israel’s cities.
Attorney Omer Nahmani, head of the Returning with Wisdom NGO and former spokesman for Democratic Union chairman Yair Golan, sent a letter on Sunday to Shin Bet chief David Zini.
He claimed the agency’s policy of relocating violent settlers into Israel proper has led to rising threats in mixed cities like Jaffa, endangering residents’ safety.
Woman, children targeted in attack
The letter followed an incident in which a woman was allegedly attacked while sitting in her car with her five-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter. According to the family, three Jewish youths sprayed pepper spray into the vehicle, shouted threats and obscenities, and fled. The woman was evacuated to Wolfson Medical Center in light condition.
Police arrested three suspects two days later. A Magistrate’s Court extended its remand by five days. During questioning, the suspects admitted being at the scene but claimed they acted in self-defense. Police said their version of events was inconsistent with security footage, forensic evidence, and eyewitness accounts.
Suspects linked to Hilltop Youth
Investigators determined the suspects are affiliated with Hilltop Youth and are barred from the West Bank. The suspects claimed they were on a Saturday morning outing in Jaffa, felt threatened by nearby vehicles, and fled the area. After giving identical statements, they invoked their right to remain silent.
Attorney Asaf Gonen of the Honenu legal aid group, who represents the suspects, told the court that police had interrupted the suspects during questioning and were not allowing them to respond fully. He described the event as a spontaneous altercation, not a premeditated attack.
'Jewish terrorists must be treated the same'
In his letter, Nahmani wrote: “As a resident of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, a secular person and a member of the LGBTQ community, I wish to emphasize that the Shin Bet is responsible for my personal security and that of all the city’s residents.”
He warned that the ideology of radical settler youth poses a danger to diverse communities across Israel. “It cannot be that Jewish terrorists, who are removed from the West Bank due to the threat they pose, are transferred into Israel proper only to continue endangering lives in civilian population centers,” he wrote.
“Just as a non-Jewish terrorist would not be relocated from the West Bank into Israel proper out of concern for public safety, the same standard must apply to Jewish terrorists. Mixed cities cannot become dumping grounds for violent extremists,” Nahmani added.
Family reports intimidation
The letter was also sent amid concern that the family had been targeted again, after their car was broken into days after the attack. “Another violent incident that deepens the sense of fear within our family and within Arab society as a whole,” said Fadi, the partner of Hanan, the woman injured in the assault.
“It seems there are those trying to intimidate and silence us so that we stop demanding enforcement and justice. But we will not be deterred.”
The incident came as Hanan was expected to give birth, further amplifying the family's sense of vulnerability. “We don’t feel safe in our home,” the family said.