The State Prosecutor’s Office filed an indictment on Monday in the Ashkelon Magistrate’s Court against 17 defendants — four of them minors — after they trespassed on the property of the IDF Military Police Chief in Ashkelon during a protest against the drafting of bnei yeshivos into the IDF.

According to the indictment, about a month and a half ago, dozens of protesters affiliated with Peleg Yerushalmi gathered near the officer’s home to protest the draft.

At a certain point, shortly after the demonstration began, some of the protesters broke through the locked gate of the officer’s home and entered the yard. At the time, his wife and two of his children — one of them a minor — were inside the house.

Dozens of protesters, including the defendants, entered the yard, the porch, and the steps leading to the house. Some sat or stood while holding hands. The defendants and other protesters sang protest songs, held signs, and shouted insults at the officer and at the IDF.

According to the indictment, the officer’s family felt fear and concern for their safety as a result of the protest. They closed the shutters, locked the front door, and called the police.

Police forces eventually stopped the disturbance, and the defendants were arrested.

The indictment also states that the riot caused damage to the gate’s locking mechanism, parts of the home’s wall were broken, and damage was caused to the porch tiles and nearby plants.

The total damage is estimated at several thousand shekels.

The defendants are charged with rioting, trespassing with intent to commit an offense, and malicious damage.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)