3 arrested for assaulting Jewish resident of Acre during widespread riots

A Jewish resident of Acre was severely beaten by Arab Israeli residents during riots which swept the city last month.

Israel Police arrest suspects in assault on Jewish driver (Credit: Israel Police)
Israel Police and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) arrested three suspects who allegedly threw stones at a Jewish driver and severely beat him during riots that swept the city last month during Operation Guardian of the Walls.
The suspects were identified as Qusay Abbas, Adham Bashir and Bilal Hilwani, in an indictment filed in the Haifa District Court on Thursday.
On May 12, the Jewish resident was traveling from Haifa to Acre when he arrived at a road that was blocked by trash cans that had been thrown onto the road by rioters.
A group of rioters, which included the three suspects, saw that a Jew was driving the vehicle and began throwing stones towards the vehicle, causing the driver to lose control of the car and hit a wall. After the Jewish driver exited the vehicle, he was severely beaten by the rioters with stones and clubs as he attempted to escape the scene.
The driver was pushed to the ground, where the rioters continued to beat him, severely injuring him. Hilwani incited the crowd while shouting "The child is dead, the child is dead." The rioters also torched his vehicle, completely burning it. 
The driver was transferred to a hospital in Nahariya for medical treatment, suffering broken bones, cuts, three disc herniations, hemorrhages and many abrasions.
A few days after the assault, the suspects, all residents of Acre in their 20's, were detained for questioning by the Shin Bet and Israel Police.
Abbas was charged with a terrorist act of attempted murder, an act of terrorism involving throwing a stone at a vehicle, intentionally sabotaging a vehicle with a racist motive and rioting.
Bashir was charged with a terrorist act of aggravated intentional sabotage and rioting. Hilwani was charged with rioting.
"Israel Police and the Shin Bet take any terrorist incident involving Israeli citizens seriously and will take all measures available to them to prevent and prosecute those involved in the riots that occurred throughout the country," said Israel Police in a statement.