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Two Israeli extremists jailed for vandalising Palestinian coffee shop during racist flag march 

June 24, 2022 at 1:48 pm

Two right-wing settlers have been indicted on charges of deliberately vandalising a Palestinian coffee shop [B’Tselem]

Two right-wing settlers have been indicted on charges of deliberately vandalising a Palestinian coffee shop out of “racist” and “nationalist” motives last month, in the central West Bank town of Huwara.

The two criminals, a 29-year-old settler from the settlement of Elon Moreh and a 22-year-old Israeli from Jerusalem, will be jailed until the end of the trial to prevent any further attacks.

The footage, released by Israeli human rights organisation, B’Tselem, shows the two settlers smashing the glass doors and tables of the Palestinian coffee shop with bats and rods, resulting in Palestinian customers fleeing to the back of the shop.

Moreover, accompanied by two Israeli minors, they also destroyed NIS 20,000 worth of hookahs and coffee machines.

According to The Jerusalem Post, evidence found on their phones identified them as part of the attack, and also included racist statements about Palestinians in the town and their anger at the sight of Palestinian flags.

The attack against the Palestinian shop came during the so-called flag march last month, which thousands of Israeli ultra-nationalists conducted and resulted in the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound – Islam’s third holiest site – in violation of the status quo.

The flag march is an annual rally planned by Israeli far-right activists as part of celebrations to commemorate Israel’s 1967 occupation and subsequent illegal annexation of Jerusalem.

READ: Hamas calls for urgent action to protect Al-Aqsa from Israeli excavations