Court orders house arrest for security coordinator charged with shooting Palestinian woman

The Jerusalem District Court has ordered house arrest for a West Bank settlement security coordinator charged with shooting at a Palestinian couple's car and seriously wounding the woman, rejecting prosecutors' request to keep him behind bars pending trial.Pinchas (Hasi) Ran, 37, the security coordinator for the area near Itamar, was ordered to be transferred to house arrest in the Golan Heights. Judge Elad Persky cited his lack of a criminal record and military service and found that prosecutors had not identified a concrete risk that he would interfere with the proceedings after the indictment.

Ran faces charges of causing serious injury with aggravated intent and obstruction of justice in an indictment filed on Friday.Ran allegedly stopped passersby and checked their ID cards without legal authorityAccording to the indictment, Ran entered the Palestinian village of Akraba near Nablus on September 18 - outside his assigned area - while traveling in a Ranger off-road vehicle with an armed career soldier. Prosecutors allege that military officials had previously warned him, following several unusual incidents, to remain within his jurisdiction and comply with procedures, particularly the rules governing the use of firearms.Inside the village, Ran allegedly stopped passersby and checked their identity cards without legal authority.

He then called on the driver of a Mazda carrying a married couple to stop.

The indictment says the driver accelerated because he feared violence after observing that the men were not soldiers and that one of them was masked. After the car passed the Ranger, prosecutors allege, Ran fired at least three shots at the departing vehicle, intending to hit it and its occupants.Two bullets struck the car and the woman, identified in the indictment as Aseel Bani Jaber. One entered her upper back and lodged in her lung near her heart; another struck near her buttock.

She underwent surgery to remove the bullets and remained hospitalized for several days.Prosecutors further allege that Ran returned to the scene and searched for cartridge cases to obstruct a possible judicial proceeding. Later, when security officials asked him about a shooting in the area, he allegedly denied having heard about it or having been present.Ran disputes prosecutors' account of eventsRan disputes that account. According to Honenu, the legal aid organization representing him, a vehicle without license plates drove toward him and his companion in what they perceived as an attempted ramming.

The organization says the two jumped aside and that Ran then fired into the air to make the vehicle stop.

The defense submitted letters from commanders describing Ran's reserve service and conduct during combat. One former battalion commander explicitly stated that he was not addressing the allegations, whose details he did not know, but offering his assessment of Ran's character. The letters also described his return to service after his brother was killed on October 7, 2023.Ran's lawyer, Nati Rom, welcomed the house-arrest decision and urged prosecutors to reconsider the case.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for November 12.