Nazareth man indicted for attack at Histadrut building

Police believe there also were attempts to torch the building, but those alleged instances are not included in the indictment.

By BEN HARTMAN
The Nazareth District Court on Thursday indicted a Nazareth man for allegedly waging a campaign of threats and extortion at a local Histadrut labor federation building last fall after his mother lost her job there.
According to the indictment, Yamen Shaheen made his way to the building on the morning of October 13, 2014, carrying two stun grenades, which he then threw at the entrance as employees made their way into work.
Police believe there also were attempts to torch the building, but those alleged instances are not included in the indictment, the charges of which include possession of weapons, extortion and obstruction of justice.
In a police search of Shaheen’s house in mid-June, police found a homemade submachine gun, as well as ammunition and stun grenades, the court said.
The indictment describes how, in 2013, his mother, Safaa Shaheen, was told an outside company had won a tender to manage the cafeteria at the histadrut building, and that her services running the eatery would no longer be needed. Shaheen convinced the new company to allow her to stay on for a few more months and tried to convince them to back out of the new deal altogether.
They refused and she was given an eviction notice in July 2013.
The case bears some resemblance to the murder of a Taibe high school principal in August 2014 in which Wahel Kayk was indicted for gunning down principal Yussuf Haj Yihye during a faculty meeting, allegedly because Kayk was worried that a decision to allow new food vendors to work at the school would hurt the kiosk he ran.