Indictment filed against 17 over riot at military police chief’s home in Ashkelon

The State Attorney’s Office on Monday filed an indictment against 17 defendants, including four minors, over a riot at the Ashkelon home of Military Police chief Brig. Gen. Yuval Yamin. The incident took place in late April during protests against the arrest of ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers, when dozens of demonstrators stormed into the yard and damaged property.

According to the indictment, Yamin’s wife and two of the couple’s children were inside the house during the disturbance. Fearing for their safety, they closed the shutters, locked the front door and called police. Officers later restored order and arrested the suspects.

Prosecutors said the protesters broke through a locked entrance gate and entered the yard, porch and stairs leading to the house. They sang protest songs, waved signs and shouted insults against the Military Police commander and the IDF while the family remained trapped inside and unable to leave safely. The filing also says dozens more protesters gathered outside from the street.

The prosecution said the damage included the gate locking mechanism, parts of the house wall, porch tiles and nearby vegetation, with losses estimated at thousands of shekels. The defendants are charged with rioting, trespassing to commit an offense and malicious damage, and the Southern District Prosecutor’s Office also asked the court to set release conditions to ensure they appear for the rest of the case.