Israel Indicts Four More Jews in Mob Attack of Arab Man Amid Wave of Violence

Four more Jews were charged on Thursday for seriously injuring an Arab driver in Bat Yam during the escalation with Gaza in May, bringing the total arrests in the televised incident that shocked the country to 10.

The indictments, filed by the Tel Aviv District Prosecutor’s Office, come after Haaretz' analysis of the incident revealed that 20 people who participated in the attack could be identified from photographs and footage of the incident.

Warning: Contains graphic footage that may be hard to watch

Said Moussa, a driver from Ramle, was seriously injured after a mob of right-wing Jewish extremists pulled him out of his car and beat him. Prior to the incident, dozens of right-wing activists marched in the city and attacked a number of Arab-owned businesses. The rioters smashed glass windows, threw objects and chanted racist slogans.

The defendants are Maor Mughrabi, Moshe Mansour, Osher Itgav and a minor whose name is barred from publication due to his age.

Mughrabi, 21, from Bat Yam was identified as one of the main attackers, who struck Moussa’s head with an electric scooter while he was lying in the street. Mughrabi, who had no previous criminal record, confessed to the charges and expressed remorse. During his detention extension hearing on Monday, Mughrabi even burst into tears, causing the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court to subsequently order the Prison Service to monitor his emotional state.

Mansour, 28, also a resident of Bat Yam, has been identified in the footage of the lynching as one of those who dragged Moussa from his car, threw him to the road and handed him to the crowd. Mansour has a prior conviction for property offenses and is still standing trial for assaulting and threatening his wife.

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Itgav, 23, from Holon, was identified in a video from the lynching as a man who kicked Moussa several times and set his dog on him. He is also facing an earlier charge for possession of drugs and a brass knuckle.

The identities of the four were known to the Central Unit of the Tel Aviv District Court about three weeks before their arrest. During the detention extension hearing, the judges supported the defendant’s lawyer’s claims and criticized the delayed arrests. For their part, the police attributed the delay to the need for further investigation and efforts to locate the suspects.

Indictments have been filed against the previous six suspects, who were arrested on suspicion of involvement in the lynching. One of them, Nathaniel Binyamin, was charged with attempted murder for racist motives, and the rest for various violent offenses, some of them for racist motives.

The photos taken by Haaretz photographer Tomer Applebaum and the live broadcast of the incident on Kan 11 were available to police and Shin Bet investigators. According to a source familiar with the details of the investigation, more than 70 people confessed to taking part in the incident.