Israeli Teen Charged with Assaulting Disabled Arab Man

An indictment has been filed against a 16-year-old Israeli from the Avigail settlement in the southern Hebron Hills, Judea, for multiple charges including violence, property damage, and driving without a license. One of the charges stems from an assault on a Palestinian man who is a double amputee and uses crutches. The teenager was arrested on August 22 after a video of the incident, showing him attacking the man, surfaced on social media. His detention was extended multiple times by the court. Following notification of the intent to indict, he was moved to house arrest.

According to the investigation, on the afternoon of August 22, the accused and another youth took a farm vehicle without permission while the farm owner, where the teen volunteered, was absent. The teen drove the vehicle despite never having obtained a driver's license. Later, the youths drove to a path near the victim's home, where a confrontation ensued, escalating to threats and violence against the disabled man and his family. The prosecution alleges the teen approached the victim with a metal pipe, demanded he move, kicked his crutch away, pushed him, and then assaulted him.

Israeli police stated that the teen is also under investigation for two other criminal cases involving violence and property damage this year. The prosecution is requesting that he remain under house arrest.