Court allows for publication: Three civilians suspected of killing Nukhba terrorist

The court permitted for publication on Thursday evening that an Israeli who went South to fight on October 7 is suspected of intentionally murdering a Nukhba terrorist.

There are a total of three detainees in the case. One of them, who was arrested in connection with another case, testified that the three detained and questioned a Nukhba terrorist on October 7, and at the end of the interrogation, shot and killed the terrorist.

As a result, the suspect was investigated on suspicion of premeditated murder. The suspect claimed that the alleged act never happened and denied all the accusations against him.

Furthermore, the suspect noted there are body cameras of combatants, where it can be clearly seen that he was not involved in the incident. He added that he assisted the Yamam fighters, some of whom were killed in the same event, and prevented the abduction of bodies.

According to him, he eliminated terrorists as part of the combat but did not interrogate any of them and certainly did not execute any of the terrorists.

The police requested that the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court extend the suspect's detention, but the court rejected the request. Simultaneously, the suspect demanded the gag order be removed from the case.

Legal battle unfolds

The police opposed the suspect's request and appealed to the Tel Aviv District Court, which permitted the publication of the case. The police requested a stay of execution to file another appeal with the Supreme Court.

The suspect’s lawyer, Attorney Chaim Sharaiband stated, "My client is not connected to the case at all and vehemently denies any involvement in any murder. My client cooperated with the police investigators and even mentioned that he eliminated terrorists in combat as they fought and killed Yamam fighters. This case is disconnected from the events."

The suspect's mother told Maariv, "The prosecution is forcibly involving my son in a case and event he has no connection to.

“There is a video capturing two individuals who apparently kill a terrorist, but my son is in no way related to that event and does not appear in that video. The prosecution will be embarrassed by this case because my son does not know Arabic, he did not interrogate any terrorist and certainly did not execute anyone. He chose to assist and fight in the combat zone and indeed eliminated terrorists who were fighting Yamam fighters, but that is all."

Following the publication, the police stated: "The Israeli Police are investigating an incident where three civilians were arrested on suspicion of involvement in crimes of stealing military equipment and causing the death of a Palestinian during Operation Iron Swords.

“The three detainees include one detained pending trial for theft of military equipment, and two released today under restrictive conditions by the court. We emphasize that all three suspects are civilians and were not part of the security forces during the events."

MK Almog Cohen of the Otzma Yehudit party responded to the case. "I am happy to hear the release to house arrest of the fighter who saved lives on October 7. He rescued from kidnapping bodies of Yamam forces, bravely faced terrorists, and even stood courageously against false accusations. The prosecution's claim was (pay attention): If they lifted the gag order, it would harm the hostages in Gaza, using their authority in a distorted manner. Shameful," Cohen concluded.