Jerusalem court frees 'terrorist' who paralyzed Herzliya
DEBKAfile was founded by a team of journalists in June 2000 as an independent Internet Web site, providing an intelligence and security news service. January 6, 2016, 2:27 PM (IDT)
A Jerusalem court on Wednesday released Ahmed Hatib, who was arrested the previous day on suspicion of planning to carry out a terrorist attack in the city of Herzliya. It appears that the manhunt for Hatib, which paralyzed the city and involved hundreds of policemen including members of elite units, was conducted improperly as Hatib is a small-time criminal rather than a terror threat. Israel's prosecution requested the court to extend Hatib's arrest, saying he poses a threat to the public, but the judge ruled that the evidence did not warrant the extention of Hatib's arrest and ordered that he be released.
DEBKAfile sources: The fact that prosecutors did not have sufficient evidence to keep Hatib under arrest, even though the previous day he was the focus of a massive manhunt, remains to be explained.
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Source: http://www.debka.com/newsupdate/14482/Jerusalem-court-frees-terrorist-who-paralyzed-Herzliya
