Beersheba Court Sentences Four to Five Years for May 2021 Stone-Throwing Riots

The Beersheba District Court sentenced Ziad Abu Aish, Yosef Badr, Zakaria Al-Sanae, and Baker Abid to five years in prison for their roles in violent riots during May 2021's Operation Guardian of the Walls. The defendants were convicted of stone-throwing, racially motivated assault, and rioting. During the unrest, they blocked Highway 6 near Lakiya with burning tires and threw stones at Jewish vehicles while shouting "Jew, Jew." The violent events included the torching of a car from which a female driver was rescued, an attack on a Thai citizen mistakenly suspected of being Jewish, and injuries to another driver whose vehicle was pelted with stones. Judge Alon Gavizon emphasized that violent nationalist riots require a severe and deterrent criminal response.