Suspects in flare incident say they were jailed next to Nukhbas, being held as example

Protesters indicted for firing flares near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayhu's Caesarea home described the conditions of their arrest and interrogation in a letter published Wednesday by the "Maarach Otef Atzurim" legal aid for protesters group which is providing them with legal assistance.

In the letter, written around two weeks after their arrest, the caused called the event a "worrying escalation in the blatant attempt to suppress legitimate protest."

The accused also said that police requested to detain them until the end of legal proceedings against them because they are protest leaders and so should serve as an example to young people. "This is political persecution," the accused alleged.

"Our extended and unprecedented arrest is meant to suppress the protest and give Israel's government unlimited power."

The letter also described harsh conditions but respectful and professional treatment by employees of Israel's Prison Services.

While held at a Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) facility, the accused described being held in solitary confinement for the majority of the time there with "Nukhba terrorists, spies, and other people arrested on suspicion of harming state security" next to them.

The accused asserted that by the third day, the Shin Bet had determined that they did not intend to hurt the prime minister or his home and said that the flares they used were "legal means that don't require a license and are used often and protests and events."

'Foolish but not an act of terror'

The legal aid group also published on Wednesday a letter signed by five former commanders from Israel's Navy, saying that the flares protest was not legitimate protest but was "certainly not terror."

The commanders, all Major-Generals in reserves, expressed "deep concern" about the State Attorney's decision to proceed with terror charges against the four.

"The firing of rescue flares next to the home of the prime minister was a foolish act and wrong, but not an act of terror. The decision of the State Attorney to define it as such is extremely unreasonable."

"The use of the term 'terror' in the flares incident deviates so blatantly from the careful legal interpretation that has been given to the phrase until today by Israel's law enforcement that it raises suspicion that foreign considerations are guiding the State Attorney."