Israel on Sunday charged five alleged Jewish extremists over a December raid on an army base, accusing them of gathering intelligence on the Israeli military and planning a riot, local media said. The Jerusalem Post said that the accused, from Jerusalem and two West Bank settlements, were charged with “gathering important military intelligence, conspiracy to riot and entering a closed military zone.”
In the attack on a brigade headquarters in the northern West Bank, about 50 right-wing activists breached the perimeter fence and went on the rampage, setting fire to tyres, assaulting a senior officer and damaging vehicles with stones, paint and nails. Public radio said that the indictment presented in court on Sunday accused the five of tracking the movements of army units in the West Bank and passing them on to settlement activists.
“They sought to prevent by illegal means the dismantling of (settlement) outposts decided by the government, and distributed reports from spotters, scouts and accomplices,” the radio said.