Israeli court places security coordinator under house arrest — Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem District Court in Israel ruled to place 37-year-old Pinchas Hasi Ran, the security coordinator for an area near the Itamar settlement, under house arrest. He is accused of shooting at the car of a Palestinian couple in the West Bank, leaving the woman seriously injured, the Jerusalem Post reports.
Court decision
Judge Elad Persky rejected the prosecution's request to keep Ran in custody until the end of the trial. He is to be transferred to house arrest in the Golan Heights. The court took into account that the defendant has no prior convictions and served in the military, while the prosecution did not present specific risks that he would interfere with the legal proceedings after being charged.
Ran is charged with intentionally causing grievous bodily harm under aggravated circumstances and obstructing justice. A preliminary hearing in the case was scheduled for November 12.
Prosecution and defense versions
According to the prosecution, on September 18 Ran arrived in a Ranger all-terrain vehicle with an armed career serviceman in the Palestinian village of Aqraba near Nablus, outside his area of responsibility. The prosecution says military officials had previously warned him about the need to follow procedures, including rules on the use of weapons.
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Investigators say that in the village, Ran stopped passersby and checked their documents without legal authority. He later ordered the driver of a Mazda carrying a couple to stop. According to the indictment, the driver accelerated out of fear of violence because the men were not military personnel and one of them was wearing a mask.
The prosecution alleges that Ran then fired at least three shots at the departing vehicle. Two bullets struck the car and passenger Aseel Bani Jaber: one wounded her in the upper back and became lodged in her lung near her heart, while another hit her in the buttock area. The woman underwent surgery to remove the bullets and then remained in hospital for several days.
The prosecution also alleges that Ran returned to the scene of the shooting and searched for shell casings, and later denied to security forces that he had been there or knew about the incident. The defense, represented by the Honenu organization, insists on a different version: the car, which allegedly had no license plates, drove toward Ran and his companion, forcing them to jump aside, and Ran fired shots into the air while trying to stop the vehicle.
