Military prosecutors on Tuesday filed indictments against two Palestinians accused of carrying out a deadly shooting attack in Ariel in April.
According to prosecutors, 23-year-old Vyacheslav Golev was shot by Palestinian attackers Yusuf Samih Assi and Yahya Marei inside a guard booth at the gate of the West Bank settlement on April 29.
Golev used his body to protect his fiancée, Victoria Fliegelmann, from a barrage of bullets, which saved her life. The couple both worked as security guards in the basti and regularly did their shifts together.
Asi and Mare were accused of intentionally causing Golev’s death. The charge is the equivalent of murder in the military courts of the West Bank. He was also charged with attempted murder of Fliegelmann.
According to the indictment, the pair decided to carry out the attack after hearing reports of clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces.
Two purchased weapons – the Improvised Carlo submachine gun – and a vehicle for carrying out the attack. The excitement said they decided on the Aerial entrance on a weekend night, because “they thought it would be the best way to carry out their plan and escape from the area.”
Both were arrested a day later from their hometown Karawat Bani Hassan.
An undated photo of security guard Vyacheslav Golev and his fiancée, Victoria Fliegelmann, killed in a terror attack in Ariel on April 29, 2022. (manners)
The military also filed an indictment against the brother of a gunman, who was accused of failing to prevent the attack, as well as helping the pair later hide.
All three will be arrested till the legal proceedings are over.
On 7 May, the families of Assi and Marei were informed that their homes in the West Bank city of Qarawt Bani Hassan were slated for demolition. Last week, the High Court dismissed the appeals filed by their families against the demolition.
Israeli security and rescue personnel at the scene of a shooting attack at the entrance to Ariel in the West Bank on April 30, 2022. (flash 90)
As part of the policy, Israel demolished the homes of Palestinians accused of carrying out deadly terror attacks. The efficacy of the policy is controversial within the Israeli security establishment, and human rights activists have characterized it as unfair collective punishment. Israeli law does not require attackers to be convicted before their homes are demolished.
