Professor Accused of Planning Attacks on Israeli Arabs Declares Himself Sane

A court in Israel heard arguments regarding the mental fitness of Shachar Nevo, a mathematics professor accused of planning large-scale terrorist attacks against Israeli Arabs. Nevo, who appeared before Judge Eliana Daniely at the Central District Court in Lod, asserted his sanity, stating, "I was normal, and I am normal, I am sure I do not need a psychiatrist." The judge accepted his plea, ruling against sending him for a psychiatric evaluation against his will.

Nevo's defense attorney argued that the evidence presented paints a less extreme picture than the indictment suggests. Nevo himself claimed that only the first page of his plan, titled "Am Yiftach" (Nation Will Expel), was published, which he felt misrepresented him as initiating a war on the nation. He requested the remaining pages be released and pointed to far-right figures Moshe Feiglin and Uri Melamed as more extreme than himself.

The indictment alleges that Nevo, motivated by nationalist ideology and exacerbated by the "Guardian of the Walls" riots and subsequent war, devised a detailed plan over three years to carry out simultaneous terrorist acts. His plan, "Am Yiftach," aimed to kill hundreds of Arab Israeli citizens, including Bedouins, as well as East Jerusalem Arabs and Palestinians, to force their permanent expulsion to Jordan, Lebanon, and Gaza.

According to the indictment, Nevo's plan involved 72 Jewish attackers, many with gun licenses, divided into 12 terror cells. These cells were to arm themselves with various weapons and launch surprise mass attacks in mixed and Arab towns. The plan also reportedly included coordination with subversive elements within the IDF, potentially involving air force, artillery, and armored corps bombing of Arab population centers.