Assault charges were filed in a Nablus military court Tuesday against a resident of Beita village who severely injured an armed Israeli escort during an April 6 confrontation between villagers and Jewish teen-agers on a Passover hike.
Munira Salah Daoud of Beita was accused of hurling a large stone at the head of Romam Aldubi with the intention of injuring him. She was also charged with assault and grievous bodily harm.
Aldubi, a resident of the nearby Jewish settlement of Eilon Moreh in the West Bank, was hospitalized in critical condition.
The incident at Beita during the Passover week became a national tragedy because of the death of Tirza Porat, a 15-year-old from Eilon Moreh, who was on the outing with her schoolmates. Initial reports that she was stoned to death by Arabs in Beita infuriated Jewish settlers.
But an Israel Defense Force investigation promptly established that Porat was killed by a bullet fired from Aldubi’s army-issue M-16 rifle. The investigation also found that he fired after being struck on the head.
For that reason the police asked for murder charges against Daoud on grounds that her act was responsible for the shot that killed Porat. But the chief military prosecutor decided Monday not to link her in any way with the girl’s death.
Daoud is a mother of three. Defense appeals to release her from custody will be heard in court Wednesday.
Aldubi shot and killed two Palestinian youths during the encounter at Beita. He was reportedly beaten unconscious by the mother and sister of one of them.
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