Following an appeal filed by Honenu, an NPO that fights for the rights of Jewish nationalist suspects, police released two members of Itamar’s security team Wednesday evening, two days after they were arrested.

Honenu lawyer Adi Kedar filed an appeal against the incarceration of the two men, after witnesses failed to identify them in a police line-up as the people who were incolved in the incident. A District Court judge ruled that they would be released Thursday morning, but Kedar appealed to the Supreme Court and the police decided to release them this evening.

The residents of Itamar were arrested on suspicion that they were involved in defending residents against an Arab riot in which rioters were supposedly wounded.

The event took place two-and-a-half weeks ago on Shabbat, with the Arab rioters claiming they were wounded as they attacked an IDF force that the two security members were reportedly with.

On Tuesday the two residents were arrested by the nationalist crime unit and brought to the Petah Tikva Magistrates Court.

Of the two, one is a member of the community security team in Itamar, while the second is a member of the security team in Rekhes Gidonim. One of them, an outstanding soldier in an elite IDF unit, was arrested while serving in active reserve duty on his base.

According to the reports, the incident began when Arab assailants stole a flock of sheep from Givat Alumot, located adjacent to Itamar. Members of the security team were called up together with IDF forces to locate the flock, which eventually they succeeded in doing.

During the search a fear arose that Jewish children who were tending another flock may have been abducted. This led to additional forces being called up over the possibly life-threatening danger.

Numerous Arab rioters from the town of Akraba began hurling rocks at the forces as they searched for the stolen flock and potentially abducted children; Arab attackers who took part in the riot claimed that several were wounded by gunfire.

Soon afterwards large IDF forces arrived to stave off the attacks by masses of Arab rioters, in clashes that continued for hours. The members of the security squad returned to their towns after the flock was located and the possibility of an abduction was ruled out.