Israel indicts three East Jerusalem Arabs over shooting attack on settlers

Suspects allegedly fired 11 bullets at Beit Yonatan settlers' jeep, lightly wounding a government-appointed security guard.

Israel indicted three East Jerusalem Palestinians Wednesday were for allegedly carrying out a shooting attack on Jewish settlers from Beit Yonatan as they were being transported through the Arab East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan.

	Local women stand above El Bustan (King's Garden) in the Silwan neighborhood in East Jerusalem on June 21, 2010.
	Photo by: Reuters

The three have been charged with attempted murder, conspiring to commit a crime, and illegal possession of firearms.

Beit Yonatan is a contested Jewish property placed by Israel placed in heart of Silwan.

According to the indictment, the three suspects opened fire with handguns on a jeep that was transporting the Beit Yonatan settlers through the Arab neighborhood of Silwan with the intent of killing them.

The suspects allegedly fired 11 bullets at the jeep, lightly wounding the leg of one of the government-appointed security guards hired to protect the settlers.

The prosecution has asked that the three be remanded until the end of the judicial proceedings.

The Shin Bet Security Service and Israel Police arrested the shooting suspect along with the members of three terrorist cells in East Jerusalem likely connected to a string of attacks against Israeli civilians and security forces in the West Bank, authorities announced Monday after a gag order was lifted in the case.

Police said the suspects have confessed to taking part in the attacks, most of which took place in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem in recent months.

Six arrests were also made in connection with an incident that took place on May 2, in which attackers blocked a road in Silwan and attacked an Israeli security jeep with stones and Molotov cocktails after it was forced to stop. One of the passengers in the jeep was hurt by a stone that was hurled.

Police said they also arrested three suspects they say were involved in an April shooting attack in Jerusalem's Ras al-Amud neighborhood. The incident occurred following the rededication ceremony of the Hurva synagogue in the Old City.

Members of the cell said they shot police officers operating in the neighborhood, according to police. A police officer was wounded in the attack.