The State Attorney’s Office issued indictments on Sunday against four anti-Netanyahu activists for conspiring to set what prosecutors described as “a ring of fire” around the Prime Minister’s Residence in the Rehavia neighborhood of Jerusalem.
According to the indictments, filed in the Jerusalem District Court, the men plotted to ignite fires at six locations.
They set up a group on the encrypted messaging app Signal, calling themselves “Smokers Together.” They held briefings, divided up tasks and procured combustible materials, the indictment said.
The defendants—Mark Fogel, 57, from Tel Aviv; Lt. Col. (res.) Amos Doron, 60, from Ramat Gan; Shmuel Reuveni, 61, from Herzliya; and Eyal Giller, 54, from Netiv Ha’asara (a moshav located at the northern border with the Gaza Strip)—were charged with arson, malicious damage, willful damage to a vehicle and obstruction of justice.
The four men allegedly set fire to trash and recycling bins near the prime minister’s official residence at 6:30 a.m. on Sept. 3, during a protest calling for the release of hostages held in Gaza.
The fires damaged vegetation, property and vehicles, forcing nearby residents to evacuate, the indictment said. At the sixth location, one of the defendants reportedly abandoned the initiative at the last minute and left the scene.
The indictment further stated that the defendants disguised themselves with hats, and in Doron’s case, an artificial beard.
At a hearing, defense attorneys sought to have the men released to house arrest, citing their lack of prior criminal records. The State Attorney’s Office, however, requested continued detention.
Judge Mordechai Burstein agreed, ruling that the coordinated nature of the crimes and the danger posed justified their being held until the end of proceedings. He also noted that the four are charged with obstruction of justice as other people are involved, who have not yet been caught.
Attorney Gabi Lasky, who represents the lead defendant, Fogel, said: “The purpose of the indictment is to deter and intimidate activists. ... This is an attempt to create a criminal event out of an event that wasn’t successful—a protest event. I’m sure that at the end of the day things will be put into proportion. This country must first make sure that the hostages are returned, and then they [the protesters] will no longer have a reason to go out and demonstrate.”
On Sept. 3, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu harshly condemned the protesters in a video message, likening those behind the fires to “fascist militias.”
Police released footage of one suspect, who is Doron, judging from the description in the indictment, wearing a disguise consisting of a hat and a fake beard. He is seen taking out a bag and throwing it into a garbage bin, and then setting fire to the contents of the bin.
Immediately, he left the scene, removing the beard and hat and throwing them into nearby bushes. Hours later, he was located by the Jerusalem District Police and arrested.
That blaze consumed the car of IDF Maj. (res.) Yoav Bar-Ishai, who had served 260 days in reserve service during the current war and was set to report for duty in the Gaza Strip the following week.
A group of anti-Netanyahu protesters set up a fundraising page, which collected 200,000 shekels ($60,000) within a few hours for him to buy a new car.
