Activated a charge remotely: Head of Nur a-Shams Battalion charged with the murder of Staff Sergeant (res.) Yehuda Ghetto
The Military Prosecution filed an indictment against Kamal Khatib, head of the Nur a-Shams Battalion, for the attack that killed Staff Sergeant (res.) Yehuda Ghetto in July 2024. The court ordered his detention until the end of the proceedings.
The Military Prosecution filed an indictment yesterday, Sunday, at the Samaria Military Court against Kamal Khatib, head of the Nur a-Shams Battalion terrorist organization, for the attack in which Staff Sergeant (res.) Yehuda Ghetto was killed in July 2024. The court ordered his detention until the end of the proceedings.
On July 1, 2024, at seven in the morning, after soldiers disembarked from their vehicle for a foot mission, an explosive device detonated on the vehicle, which was parked in an area where there was no suspicion of explosive devices, and therefore no route clearance had been performed. Ghetto, who was in the vehicle with a unit commander, was killed; the commander was seriously wounded.
According to the indictment, on July 1, 2024, Khatib was in a room in the Bal'a neighborhood, from where he and other terrorists activated a device that had been planted in the ground in advance. The device was activated remotely via a mobile phone toward a security forces vehicle.
As a result of the explosion, the vehicle overturned; Ghetto was thrown from it and killed. Another person was wounded in the chest and head and was evacuated to a hospital for treatment.
Khatib initially served as a member of the Nur a-Shams Battalion, later as its administrator, and finally as the head of the battalion. According to the indictment, he led a long series of terrorist activities, including recruiting operatives for surveillance and weapons production systems, planting explosive devices, arms trafficking, and transferring funds and military equipment to terrorists.
The indictment charges him with, among other things, intentional causing of death as part of a group — the equivalent of a murder charge — attempted intentional causing of death as part of a group, heading an illegal association, trafficking in war materiel, and planting a bomb. The IDF stated that the Military Prosecution is in constant contact with Ghetto's family members and is accompanying them throughout the legal process.
