An indictment filed against two Arab residents of Haifa reveals a disturbing situation, which is partially neglected in the charges.
The couple indicted are Shadi Abu Mayyaleh and Menar Zid. According to the indictment, Shadi, 26, lured a 12 year-old Jewish girl, to his home in Haifa, where he and his partner attempted to stab her.
About three months ago, Shadi met the girl on a bus from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He initiated a conversation, telling her that he was wealthy and that his girlfriend had left him. He suggested that she could her to be his girlfriend and in exchange he would give her many gifts, including a new phone, and take her out to meals. He invited her to his house, but she declined. During that encounter, the girl gave him her phone number.
After the initial meeting, the Arab couple decided to kidnap and harm the girl. According to the indictment, Shadi spoke extensively on the phone with her and continuously promised her gifts and vacations.
Two weeks after the initial encounter, the girl finally agreed to visit to his house. She told her parents that she was going to sleep at a friend's house, and then hopped on a bus from her home to Jerusalem, then another bus to Haifa, and finally took a taxi to Shadi and Menar's apartment.
After the girl arrived at their home and sat down, Shadi grabbed her from behind while Menar stabbed her with a ten-centimeter knife.
When the girl tried to call the police, they snatched her phone. Eventually, the Arab couple fled, and the girl managed to call the police using a second phone she had on her. The police were delayed in locating the apartment, during which time the girl shouted and tried to call for help. The Arab couple were arrested about ten days later in Jerusalem.
The indictment filed against the couple does not attribute nationalistic motives to them, and reading the indictment, the couple’s motive appears unclear. Also, the indictment does contain a charge of attempted murder but rather a charge of ‘intentionally causing severe injury’ and ‘kidnapping for the purpose of causing severe harm.’
The motive is readily evident however, from the arrest warrant. At the initial proceeding on bail, the police requested remand through the end of the proceedings and provided the couple’s account. According to Menar, Shadi is an extremist Arab nationalist, who supports Hamas and hates Jews. She claimed that he invited the girl to their house with the intention to murder her because he wanted to kill a Jew. However, the indictment fails to mention this and does not contain any charges related to terror or nationalistic motivation.
The case was initially investigated by the Shin Bet, but the prosecution decided that it would be difficult to convince the court that the attack was carried out with nationalist motives and therefore the charges were reduced.
In another case in Haifa, an Arab resident was convicted of sympathizing with a terrorist organization and incitement to terror after he expressed support for the Oct. 7th massacre. He was sentenced to eight months in prison, seven months of probation, and a fine of three thousand shekels.
