Jerusalem Court Orders House Arrest for Security Coordinator Over Shooting

The Jerusalem District Court ordered the release of Pinhas (Hasi) Ran, a security coordinator for Reches Gidronim charged with shooting and seriously injuring a Palestinian woman, to house arrest in the Golan Heights. The ruling comes three days after a gag order was lifted in the high-profile case.

Ran, a 37-year-old reserve commando, father of three, and bereaved brother with no prior criminal record, was arrested following a shooting incident near the village of Aqraba. According to his testimony, the shots were fired in the air after a vehicle attempted to run over him and another soldier stationed with him. An indictment was filed against him last Friday on charges of aggravated assault and obstruction of justice.

In his decision, Judge Elad Persky noted that there is no objective evidence clearly depicting the encounter between the vehicle and the security ranger, highlighting conflicting accounts from the parties involved. The judge emphasized Ran's clean record despite his military service in a volatile friction zone, stating that the lack of prior offenses is telling. Rejecting the prosecution's concerns regarding potential obstruction of justice, the judge ruled that no concrete threat of interference was presented following the filing of the indictment.

Concluding his ruling, Judge Persky determined that the likelihood of Ran violating conditions or repeating such an offense is extremely low. Consequently, the court ordered his transfer to house arrest even before receiving a probation officer's report—an exceptional measure. Attorney Nati Rom, representing Ran on behalf of the Honenu organization, welcomed the decision, stating that the court recognized the stability of his self-defense claim and urging the prosecution to reconsider its handling of the case.