Ashkelon Magistrate's Court vice president Justice Yaniv Boker, today ordered the release on house arrest of the 44-year-old Jew from Samaria who was arrested following the death of an Arab during riots near the city of Ariel. The police asked for the suspect to be placed under house arrest for two weeks, but the judge shortened the period to eight days and imposed a ban on contacting the people involved in the incident. Samaria Regional Council chairman Yossi Dagan said: "The mountain gave birth to a mouse. The citizen should not have been arrested in the first place and certainly not subject to Shabak interrogation under conditions meant for terrorists. His release under restrictive conditions is a first step in redressing the injustice to a man who protected his life and the lives of nearly 20 children who were attacked by a gang of violent terrorists. This unnecessary case should be closed today." Attorney Adi Keidar of the Honenu legal organization, who represented the suspect at the hearing, said, "A few minutes ago, the court ordered the release of the murder suspect. We hope that this is the beginning of the collapse of this whole case, as the whole thing was an incident that started at the initiative of Arab rioters who turned out to be terrorists, and later the suspect and others were forced to defend themselves." "This incident is a classic case of self-defense. I sincerely hope that the prosecution will recant, make the right decision and close this case soon," Kedar said.
