3 june 2015
Extremist Jewish settlers broke into a historic site in Artas town in southern Bethlehem at noon on Wednesday.
Media sources revealed that dozens of Jewish settlers escorted by Israeli policemen stormed the Solomon’s Pools historic site.
The settlers came from the nearby Efrat Jewish outpost constructed on Palestinians’ lands, the sources added.
The media sources also pointed out that settlers’ incursion into historic sites in the area are frequently repeated for the purpose of taking over green lands in the district.
Media sources revealed that dozens of Jewish settlers escorted by Israeli policemen stormed the Solomon’s Pools historic site.
The settlers came from the nearby Efrat Jewish outpost constructed on Palestinians’ lands, the sources added.
The media sources also pointed out that settlers’ incursion into historic sites in the area are frequently repeated for the purpose of taking over green lands in the district.
Video
Palestinians, on Wednesday afternoon, protested the start of the Lights in Jerusalem festival, in the Damascus Gate area of the Old City, onlookers said.
A Ma'an reporter said that activists organized the event in response to the Israeli "Judization festival," which starts on Wednesday and ends on Saturday, June 11.
Israeli forces surrounded the activists in the Palestinian event and tried to stop all cultural and sport activities they were holding by threatening them and confiscating the speakers they used.
Israeli forces detained several participants and assaulted others.
Israeli forces also fired stun grenades and chased down participants including women and children in an attempt to clear out the area and allow the light festival to begin.
Soldiers Kidnap Three Palestinians Protesting “Jerusalem Light Festival”
Israeli soldiers kidnapped, on Wednesday evening, at least three Palestinians, participating in procession against the provocative Israeli march, on the sidelines of the so-called “Jerusalem Lights Festival,” that was organized by several Israeli government facilities and settlers’ groups.
The Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA) has reported that the soldiers fired concussion grenades at the Palestinians, and violently assaulted several young men, women and children, before kidnapping at least three.
Two of the kidnapped have been identified as the head of the Fateh Youth Group in Jerusalem Ahmad al-Ghoul, and Samer Abu ‘Aisha.
The Palestinians marched in the “Jerusalem Is Ours” possession carrying flags, and chanting slogans for the liberation of Palestine, and Jerusalem, while one protester managed to raise the Palestinian flag on the wall of Bab al-‘Amoud before the soldiers assaulted him, causing carious cuts and bruises.
The protesters also played the Palestinian national anthem and revolutionary songs, to counter the provocative Israeli procession in the occupied city.
Soldiers also fired gas bombs at the protesters causing scores to suffer the effects of tear gas inhalation, while many suffered cuts and bruises after being chased, and assaulted, by the army.
The soldiers allowed Israeli groups and settlement organizations to march provocatively in Jerusalem, as part of the Lights Festival, carrying dozens of Israeli flags and chanting provocative slogans, especially in the occupied Old Jerusalem.
Palestinians, on Wednesday afternoon, protested the start of the Lights in Jerusalem festival, in the Damascus Gate area of the Old City, onlookers said.
A Ma'an reporter said that activists organized the event in response to the Israeli "Judization festival," which starts on Wednesday and ends on Saturday, June 11.
Israeli forces surrounded the activists in the Palestinian event and tried to stop all cultural and sport activities they were holding by threatening them and confiscating the speakers they used.
Israeli forces detained several participants and assaulted others.
Israeli forces also fired stun grenades and chased down participants including women and children in an attempt to clear out the area and allow the light festival to begin.
Soldiers Kidnap Three Palestinians Protesting “Jerusalem Light Festival”
Israeli soldiers kidnapped, on Wednesday evening, at least three Palestinians, participating in procession against the provocative Israeli march, on the sidelines of the so-called “Jerusalem Lights Festival,” that was organized by several Israeli government facilities and settlers’ groups.
The Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA) has reported that the soldiers fired concussion grenades at the Palestinians, and violently assaulted several young men, women and children, before kidnapping at least three.
Two of the kidnapped have been identified as the head of the Fateh Youth Group in Jerusalem Ahmad al-Ghoul, and Samer Abu ‘Aisha.
The Palestinians marched in the “Jerusalem Is Ours” possession carrying flags, and chanting slogans for the liberation of Palestine, and Jerusalem, while one protester managed to raise the Palestinian flag on the wall of Bab al-‘Amoud before the soldiers assaulted him, causing carious cuts and bruises.
The protesters also played the Palestinian national anthem and revolutionary songs, to counter the provocative Israeli procession in the occupied city.
Soldiers also fired gas bombs at the protesters causing scores to suffer the effects of tear gas inhalation, while many suffered cuts and bruises after being chased, and assaulted, by the army.
The soldiers allowed Israeli groups and settlement organizations to march provocatively in Jerusalem, as part of the Lights Festival, carrying dozens of Israeli flags and chanting provocative slogans, especially in the occupied Old Jerusalem.
7 Palestinians and 4 Israeli settlers have been injured in a car accident Wednesday morning involving an Israeli car and a Palestinian car south of Nablus city, according to Israeli social media.
Social media indicated, according to the PNN, that the accident happened near to A’lia settlement, south of Nablus, and resulted in 7 Palestinians sustaining minor injuries. They were taken, by Palestine Red Cross ambulances, to Ramallah hospital for treatment. 4 injured settlers were taken to Hadasa hospital in occupied Jerusalem and their conditions described as stable.
Photos taken by eye witnesses show that the Palestinian public transport vehicle and the private Israeli vehicle were both severly damaged. Eye witnesses also confirmed that the accident was due to heavy traffic on the road.
Although most main roads are shared by Palestinians and Israelis, many roads in the West Bank are for the exclusive use of Israelis, with Palestinian drivers banned from approximately 105 kilometers of West Bank roads, according to Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem. The separate road system for Palestinians is often unpaved and in some cases is little more than a dirt track, rather than a viable road.
Social media indicated, according to the PNN, that the accident happened near to A’lia settlement, south of Nablus, and resulted in 7 Palestinians sustaining minor injuries. They were taken, by Palestine Red Cross ambulances, to Ramallah hospital for treatment. 4 injured settlers were taken to Hadasa hospital in occupied Jerusalem and their conditions described as stable.
Photos taken by eye witnesses show that the Palestinian public transport vehicle and the private Israeli vehicle were both severly damaged. Eye witnesses also confirmed that the accident was due to heavy traffic on the road.
Although most main roads are shared by Palestinians and Israelis, many roads in the West Bank are for the exclusive use of Israelis, with Palestinian drivers banned from approximately 105 kilometers of West Bank roads, according to Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem. The separate road system for Palestinians is often unpaved and in some cases is little more than a dirt track, rather than a viable road.
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) carried out last month 35 violations against Palestinian journalists, Palestinian Information Ministry revealed Tuesday.
The ministry has documented more than 30 violations against journalists as part of the Israeli systematic policy to prevent them from covering the occupation’s real image.
The documented violations include attacking journalists, targeting them with tear gas bombs, ill-treatment, humiliation, arrests, confiscation of their equipments, travel ban, and preventing them from covering events.
Israeli violations have notably escalated in occupied Jerusalem over the past period, where journalists were targeted by both Israeli forces and settlers.
The ministry has documented more than 30 violations against journalists as part of the Israeli systematic policy to prevent them from covering the occupation’s real image.
The documented violations include attacking journalists, targeting them with tear gas bombs, ill-treatment, humiliation, arrests, confiscation of their equipments, travel ban, and preventing them from covering events.
Israeli violations have notably escalated in occupied Jerusalem over the past period, where journalists were targeted by both Israeli forces and settlers.
2 june 2015
Dutch government issues new travel advice for travellers to West Bank; Israel hits back at 'unacceptable slander'.
The official website of the Prime Minister of Holland has recommend that Dutch citizens exercise caution in the vicinity of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, saying that settlers "throw rocks at Palestinian and international vehicles."
Israel has reacted furiously to what it calls "slander", and has says it will take the matter further.
The travel warning lists the dangers in traveling within the region, including an explicit warning to be wary during all travel in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The warnings include an information section that highlights the frequent protests and violent incidents within both areas.
"Jewish settlers live in illegal settlements in the West Bank," the warning states. "These settlers regularly organize demonstrations on and around the roads. These demonstrations are sometimes violent. It happens that settlers throw stones at Palestinian and international vehicles."
The warning specificly mentions the hills around the towns of Nablus and Hebron and the closed military zone in Hebron, which includes the Tomb of the Patriarchs, also known as the Ibrahimi mosque, a source of frequent friction between Jews and Muslims. These areas are labeled as "zones of settler hostility".
The website further warns citizens against travel to Gaza, labelling the security situation as relatively calm since the cease fire on August 27, 2014, after a 50-day war between Israel and Hamas. But, according to the warning, "the situation is unpredictable. The living conditions are worse. Through it all, the security situation in a short time can deteriorate further."
There are dangers of infighting between Hamas and other Palestinian factions within Gaza such as Islamic Jihad, according to the advisory. This, the site says, is in addition to the ongoing risk of becoming a victim of an Israeli airstrike.
On the matter of violent protests, the report warns that: "Jewish settlers continue to build homes and villages in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, thus there are continuing protests and tensions have risen in Jerusalem."
The report places the brunt of responsibilty for the frequent protests and riots in East Jerusalem squarely on the shoulders of the Israeli settlers.
The Israeli Embassy in Holland said in response: "It is unnaceptable to slander the name of a whole community, we will make our objections known to high level officials in Holland."
The official website of the Prime Minister of Holland has recommend that Dutch citizens exercise caution in the vicinity of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, saying that settlers "throw rocks at Palestinian and international vehicles."
Israel has reacted furiously to what it calls "slander", and has says it will take the matter further.
The travel warning lists the dangers in traveling within the region, including an explicit warning to be wary during all travel in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The warnings include an information section that highlights the frequent protests and violent incidents within both areas.
"Jewish settlers live in illegal settlements in the West Bank," the warning states. "These settlers regularly organize demonstrations on and around the roads. These demonstrations are sometimes violent. It happens that settlers throw stones at Palestinian and international vehicles."
The warning specificly mentions the hills around the towns of Nablus and Hebron and the closed military zone in Hebron, which includes the Tomb of the Patriarchs, also known as the Ibrahimi mosque, a source of frequent friction between Jews and Muslims. These areas are labeled as "zones of settler hostility".
The website further warns citizens against travel to Gaza, labelling the security situation as relatively calm since the cease fire on August 27, 2014, after a 50-day war between Israel and Hamas. But, according to the warning, "the situation is unpredictable. The living conditions are worse. Through it all, the security situation in a short time can deteriorate further."
There are dangers of infighting between Hamas and other Palestinian factions within Gaza such as Islamic Jihad, according to the advisory. This, the site says, is in addition to the ongoing risk of becoming a victim of an Israeli airstrike.
On the matter of violent protests, the report warns that: "Jewish settlers continue to build homes and villages in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, thus there are continuing protests and tensions have risen in Jerusalem."
The report places the brunt of responsibilty for the frequent protests and riots in East Jerusalem squarely on the shoulders of the Israeli settlers.
The Israeli Embassy in Holland said in response: "It is unnaceptable to slander the name of a whole community, we will make our objections known to high level officials in Holland."
Bashar Qaryouti, Coordinator of Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements in Qaryout village, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, said Israeli extremists bulldozed and uprooted, on Tuesday morning, Palestinian lands in preparation to pave a road linking between two illegal colonies, built on the villager’s lands.
Qaryouti said the planned illegal road is meant to link between Shilo and Eleya colonies, built on privately owned Palestinian lands.
He added that the new Israeli plan would lead to further illegal annexation of Palestinian lands, and to destroying the southern road of the village.
Qaryouti said the village’s size with its lands used to be 22.000 Dunams; all but 366 Dunams have been illegally annexed by Israel to the construction and expansion of settlements, and for military usage, the WAFA New Agency has reported.
He also stated that the villagers managed to obtain a ruling from the Israeli Supreme Court denying the settlers access to the bulldozed area, as it contained an archaeological site, but they violated the order.
In addition, Ghassan Daghlas, in charge of the Israeli Settlements File in the Palestinian Authority, in the northern part of the West Bank, has reported that Israeli bulldozers also uprooted Palestinian lands, close to Road #60, linking between Nablus and Ramallah.
Daghlas stated that Israel is apparently planning to illegally confiscate dozens of Dunams of Palestinian lands to link the two above-mentioned colonies.
Qaryouti said the planned illegal road is meant to link between Shilo and Eleya colonies, built on privately owned Palestinian lands.
He added that the new Israeli plan would lead to further illegal annexation of Palestinian lands, and to destroying the southern road of the village.
Qaryouti said the village’s size with its lands used to be 22.000 Dunams; all but 366 Dunams have been illegally annexed by Israel to the construction and expansion of settlements, and for military usage, the WAFA New Agency has reported.
He also stated that the villagers managed to obtain a ruling from the Israeli Supreme Court denying the settlers access to the bulldozed area, as it contained an archaeological site, but they violated the order.
In addition, Ghassan Daghlas, in charge of the Israeli Settlements File in the Palestinian Authority, in the northern part of the West Bank, has reported that Israeli bulldozers also uprooted Palestinian lands, close to Road #60, linking between Nablus and Ramallah.
Daghlas stated that Israel is apparently planning to illegally confiscate dozens of Dunams of Palestinian lands to link the two above-mentioned colonies.
1 june 2015
Extremist Israeli settlers broke into the courtyards of Al Aqsa Mosque, on Monday morning, from Mughrabi Gate, under heavy guard of Israeli police.
Mahmoud Abu Atta, media coordinator of Al-Aqsa Foundation for Waqf and Heritage said to Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency that around 20 Israeli settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque and carried out provocative tours in its courtyards. Worshipers confronted them with chanting.
He explained that Israeli intelligence officers stormed al-Qebli mosque and filmed worshipers, and served summonses for some workers to report to Israeli police.
Extremist Israeli settlers and politicians have been violating the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosqueon an almost daily basis and always under the protection of armed occupation forces, which often attack Palestinian worshipers who try to protect their holy site.
Mahmoud Abu Atta, media coordinator of Al-Aqsa Foundation for Waqf and Heritage said to Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency that around 20 Israeli settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque and carried out provocative tours in its courtyards. Worshipers confronted them with chanting.
He explained that Israeli intelligence officers stormed al-Qebli mosque and filmed worshipers, and served summonses for some workers to report to Israeli police.
Extremist Israeli settlers and politicians have been violating the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosqueon an almost daily basis and always under the protection of armed occupation forces, which often attack Palestinian worshipers who try to protect their holy site.
Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret, 1896
A group of extremist Jewish settlers disrupted Christian celebrations of Last Supper in Zion Mount southwest of Occupied Jerusalem.
Media sources revealed that dozens of Haredim fanatic Jews got gathered since the morning hours in the vicinity of Last Supper, blocked Christian access to the location and barred them from performing Christian prayers within the Pentecost holiday celebrated by orthodox Christians for two days.
According to Israeli Police’s statement, the fanatic Jewish settlers were forcibly separated in order to allow Christians to practice their prayer.
The Last Supper’s room is a part of King David's Tomb which consists of several buildings of Islamic historical features. It has been controlled by Israel since 1948 when it occupied Palestine and turned it into a synagogue.
Extremist Jews Ban Christian Prayer in Jerusalem
Israeli Jews banned, on Monday, Christian prayer at holy site of Jesus’ Last Supper, calling it “pagan ceremony.”
Witnesses said that clashes erupted between the Israeli Jews and Christians –Palestinian and Israelis– when the Christians wanted to perform their prayer.
The extremists said the Christian worshippers were desecrating their holy site and violating the Jews’ right to pray there, but Vatican representatives denied the claims and referred to the incident as “grave.”
According to witnesses from the area of Mount Zion, where is sacred place is located, such incident is always repeated when extremist Jews undermine Christian prayers in the area.
On Sunday last week, dozens of Jews also attempted to block Christian prayer there for the holiday of Pentecost and were forcibly removed.
“Jews come to pray at Zion, at a holy site, a very internal and intimate place,” extremist Jewish Professor Hillel Weiss told Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth on Sunday. “The priests arrive there to forcibly impose their pagan ceremony, in a place which is sacred to the Jews.”
Weiss argued: “This is an intolerable situation. So it was our full right to ward off the invaders. The Vatican is playing with fire.”
The Mount Zion compound near Jerusalem’s Old City includes, according to religious beliefs, the tomb of King David on the first floor and the room of Jesus’ Last Supper on the second floor.
Israeli newspaper said that David’s Tomb is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Holy Sites and the Last Supper site is under the jurisdiction of the Interior Ministry. Today Christians are allowed to visit the room, but can only pray in it on two specific days a year.
See also: Israeli Settlers Burn Church in Jerusalem
Settlers Burn Greek Orthodox Church Land In Jerusalem
Israeli Fanatics Burn Section Of A Jerusalem Church
Israeli Threatens To Kill Arab Christians Unless They Leave The Country
A group of extremist Jewish settlers disrupted Christian celebrations of Last Supper in Zion Mount southwest of Occupied Jerusalem.
Media sources revealed that dozens of Haredim fanatic Jews got gathered since the morning hours in the vicinity of Last Supper, blocked Christian access to the location and barred them from performing Christian prayers within the Pentecost holiday celebrated by orthodox Christians for two days.
According to Israeli Police’s statement, the fanatic Jewish settlers were forcibly separated in order to allow Christians to practice their prayer.
The Last Supper’s room is a part of King David's Tomb which consists of several buildings of Islamic historical features. It has been controlled by Israel since 1948 when it occupied Palestine and turned it into a synagogue.
Extremist Jews Ban Christian Prayer in Jerusalem
Israeli Jews banned, on Monday, Christian prayer at holy site of Jesus’ Last Supper, calling it “pagan ceremony.”
Witnesses said that clashes erupted between the Israeli Jews and Christians –Palestinian and Israelis– when the Christians wanted to perform their prayer.
The extremists said the Christian worshippers were desecrating their holy site and violating the Jews’ right to pray there, but Vatican representatives denied the claims and referred to the incident as “grave.”
According to witnesses from the area of Mount Zion, where is sacred place is located, such incident is always repeated when extremist Jews undermine Christian prayers in the area.
On Sunday last week, dozens of Jews also attempted to block Christian prayer there for the holiday of Pentecost and were forcibly removed.
“Jews come to pray at Zion, at a holy site, a very internal and intimate place,” extremist Jewish Professor Hillel Weiss told Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth on Sunday. “The priests arrive there to forcibly impose their pagan ceremony, in a place which is sacred to the Jews.”
Weiss argued: “This is an intolerable situation. So it was our full right to ward off the invaders. The Vatican is playing with fire.”
The Mount Zion compound near Jerusalem’s Old City includes, according to religious beliefs, the tomb of King David on the first floor and the room of Jesus’ Last Supper on the second floor.
Israeli newspaper said that David’s Tomb is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Holy Sites and the Last Supper site is under the jurisdiction of the Interior Ministry. Today Christians are allowed to visit the room, but can only pray in it on two specific days a year.
See also: Israeli Settlers Burn Church in Jerusalem
Settlers Burn Greek Orthodox Church Land In Jerusalem
Israeli Fanatics Burn Section Of A Jerusalem Church
Israeli Threatens To Kill Arab Christians Unless They Leave The Country
A human rights group working in the 1948 occupied Palestinian territories declared that Jewish settlers enjoy impunity for crimes committed against the Palestinians in the West Bank citing the fact that the Israeli police take no serious action to deal with the attacks by the settlers against the Palestinians in the West Bank.
The group, known as "Yesh Din" (i.e. there is a law), follows up and documents the settlers’ attacks against the Palestinians. The group published a report last month on its website stating that the investigations conducted by the police only result in a very small proportion of indictments and convictions.
According to the report, the group followed up 1067 investigation files from 2005 until the end of 2014, yet there were no indictments brought except in 7.4% of those files, which means no more than 70 files.
The report pointed out that the majority of files were closed at the end of the investigation without indictments, and the overwhelming majority of 85% were closed because of the failure of the investigation and the failure of investigators to find out the suspects or to collect sufficient evidence to file indictments.
The report stated that 605 investigation files were closed because of not knowing the offender, which refers to the police's failure to find out the suspects of the crimes.
Also, 204 files were closed because of the lack of evidence, which refers to the investigators’ failure to collect sufficient evidence to file indictments against the suspects accused of crimes, including attacks against Palestinians or their properties or the seizure of private Palestinian lands.
The report also indicated that 77 files were closed under the pretext of "lack of a criminal charge", which means that "there is no criminal offense committed, or that the suspect has nothing to do with the crime committed."
In this context, the Yesh Din group filed an appeal on 26 investigation files, after the legal staff had examined the files, and found that the decision to close them was not reasonable.
The report also showed that even in the few cases where indictments were brought forward, one third of the judicial process ends with full or partial conviction, and almost a quarter (22.4%) are canceled or written off, while in 22.8% of the indictments, the court avoids the conviction of the accused despite the decision that they have committed the violations attributed to them.
The data showed that indictments were brought forward with full conviction in six files only, while 13 files ended with partial conviction.
Besides, the report stated that based on the investigation materials, the investigations were poorly conducted with much failures and shortcomings in all stages of the investigation. In addition, the investigations were not conducted under the basic investigation procedures, and some of the failures concern not patrolling the crime scene, or doing so long time after committing the crime, which makes it hard to find evidence of criminal offenses.
The report also listed other failures; such as conducting an unserious and unprofessional investigation at the crime scene, as well as making no effort to find witnesses.
The report stated that law enforcement in the West Bank faces a structural problem due to the incomplete distribution of powers between the Israeli army and the police, which resulted in insufficient cooperation leading to these failures.
According to the report, the problem appears clearly in the frequent absence of the police in the areas where the crimes were committed, and also in the serious failures in the performance of the occupation army soldiers who arrive at the crime scene, yet often stand aside and do not act to stop the crime. They don’t detain settlers, nor do they try to guard the crime scene until the arrival of the police.
Moreover, the report put forward another issue that the Palestinians don’t trust in the capabilities or willingness of the police to provide them with assistance or to investigate their complaints. According to Yesh Din, this can be easily seen through the majority's decision not to make a complaint to the police.
Read or full report [PDF]
The Unseen Criminals
Most cases of attacks on Palestinians are closed after under the “unknown perpetrator” clause. The police have wondrous ways of unseeing criminals.
At the center of our new report, Mock Enforcement, dealing with the continued failure of Israel to enforce the law on Israeli civilians in the West Bank who harm Palestinians, stands a depressing piece of data: the police’s failure rate in investigating these crimes stands at 85.3 percent. The report examined 996 cases closed by the police, and found that the main clause for closing them is UP – “unknown perpetrator.” 593 of the cases examined were closed for that reason, which means the police did not manage to find suspects who committed the crime.
The clause is the official reason given by the police for the decision to close the case. The Israeli Police Command notes nine clauses for closing an investigative case, among them lack of guilt, lack of sufficient evidence, the fact that the suspect is a minor and, of course, unknown perpetrator.
The question that keeps surfacing when a case is closed due to UP asks just how extensive was the police’s search for the criminals. An examination of a series of cases shows that all too often that search was partial at best. At worse, it is farcical. Let’s deal with some examples, since there are some facts that simply cannot be conveyed by numbers.
On September 3rd 2009, three Israeli civilians – two of them wearing a hood, one with his face visible who was holding a stick and was walking a dog – attacked Ibrahim Tawil, a resident of the village of Faratha, on his land. The three attackers were joined by three others, all of them wearing hoods, and together they removed Ibarhim’s belt and assaulted him with it. They then undressed him, stole his wallet and watch and left him in his underwear.
In his police interrogation, Tawil identified the clear-faced attacker in the police album. However, an inner police memo claimed that according to intelligence, the person had no connection to the region or the incident. Had the police bothered to make the minimal effort and examined the suspect’s criminal record, it would have found that the attacker had a rich past of violence against Palestinians, including a conviction for using firearms. But this basic action was not undertaken, the suspect was not summoned for an interrogation and the case was closed under the UP clause.
Let’s recap: even when the Palestinian victim identified an attacker known to the police — who attacked him with his face exposed — the police managed to avoid interrogating the suspect. We appealed, and the suspect was summoned for interrogation (a year after the incident) and denied his alleged involvement. The interrogator did not ask him for an alibi, and the case was closed – again – under the UP clause.
Tawil, who lives near the Havat Gilad settlement outpost, isn’t very lucky. Two months after the first incident, on November 26th 2009, he was attacked by four hooded people who came from the direction of the outpost — two of them arriving on the scene with dogs. He was beaten with a stone on his head and a stick on his back. The timely arrival of other village residents probably prevented more serious damage. Tawil lodged a complaint with the police, describing the clothes they wore noting that he was also attacked two months earlier.
The police closed the file a month later, again claiming the unknown perpetrator clause. Even though at the time the number of people residing in Havat Gilad was 20 at most, the police declined to use the simple method of checking who among them owns dogs fitting the description given by Tawil.
Tawil, of course, is not the only victim whose attacker was never to be found. On March 17th 2011, a group of hooded Israeli civilians assaulted Sami Snoubar, a Palestinian working at construction in the settlement of Shiloh, striking his head with a metal bar and attacking him with pepper spray. The identification was partial in the extreme, relying on the testimony of a medic who identified two of them, but qualified his statement by saying he may have seen them at other incidents in the area.
The police interrogated three suspects; all of them refused to cooperate with the investigation. Two of the suspects gave an alibi, which the Samaria Judea Police Department, displaying its usual diligence, failed to check. The case of the third suspect is more shocking: he refused to cooperate with the investigation, declining to give an alibi, and in response the investigator offered him an alibi (!) by saying that the police will allow him to call his boss so that the latter could provide him with an alibi. The case was closed under the unknown perpetrator clause.
One of the most appalling cases is that of Yassin Rifa’i. On March 14th, 2011 a Civil Administration officer informed Rifa’I, a resident of the Palestinian village Anata, that the residents of the settlement of Talmon uprooted dozens of trees from his land – allegedly as vengeance for a murder. The management of the settlement accepted responsibility for the incident and compensated Rifa’I for the damage.
The police interrogated the settlement’s security officer, who was asked whether he knew who committed the crime. The officer responded that he “preferred to keep the information to himself.” This, allegedly, is obstruction of justice, but the police did not pressure the security officer in any way, and he did not face any disciplinary action. Nor did the police try to find the Civil Administration officer who contacted Rifa’i. After all, it is much easier to scrawl “unknown perpetrator” on the case than try and find who the perpetrator really was.
The picture that arises from these cases (and many others), backed up by data, is as gloomy as it is simple: the investigators are not really trying to find the suspects. It’s unclear whether this stems from a fear that success will lead to hostility toward them from the Jewish population; whether this is the spirit of command, saying “don’t succeed too much in this realm”; whether this is laziness or a quiet sympathy with the attackers. What is clear is that there is something beyond incompetence, something near-systematic.
And when it becomes systematic, how can you blame the Palestinians who decided not to bother with lodging a complaint?
The group, known as "Yesh Din" (i.e. there is a law), follows up and documents the settlers’ attacks against the Palestinians. The group published a report last month on its website stating that the investigations conducted by the police only result in a very small proportion of indictments and convictions.
According to the report, the group followed up 1067 investigation files from 2005 until the end of 2014, yet there were no indictments brought except in 7.4% of those files, which means no more than 70 files.
The report pointed out that the majority of files were closed at the end of the investigation without indictments, and the overwhelming majority of 85% were closed because of the failure of the investigation and the failure of investigators to find out the suspects or to collect sufficient evidence to file indictments.
The report stated that 605 investigation files were closed because of not knowing the offender, which refers to the police's failure to find out the suspects of the crimes.
Also, 204 files were closed because of the lack of evidence, which refers to the investigators’ failure to collect sufficient evidence to file indictments against the suspects accused of crimes, including attacks against Palestinians or their properties or the seizure of private Palestinian lands.
The report also indicated that 77 files were closed under the pretext of "lack of a criminal charge", which means that "there is no criminal offense committed, or that the suspect has nothing to do with the crime committed."
In this context, the Yesh Din group filed an appeal on 26 investigation files, after the legal staff had examined the files, and found that the decision to close them was not reasonable.
The report also showed that even in the few cases where indictments were brought forward, one third of the judicial process ends with full or partial conviction, and almost a quarter (22.4%) are canceled or written off, while in 22.8% of the indictments, the court avoids the conviction of the accused despite the decision that they have committed the violations attributed to them.
The data showed that indictments were brought forward with full conviction in six files only, while 13 files ended with partial conviction.
Besides, the report stated that based on the investigation materials, the investigations were poorly conducted with much failures and shortcomings in all stages of the investigation. In addition, the investigations were not conducted under the basic investigation procedures, and some of the failures concern not patrolling the crime scene, or doing so long time after committing the crime, which makes it hard to find evidence of criminal offenses.
The report also listed other failures; such as conducting an unserious and unprofessional investigation at the crime scene, as well as making no effort to find witnesses.
The report stated that law enforcement in the West Bank faces a structural problem due to the incomplete distribution of powers between the Israeli army and the police, which resulted in insufficient cooperation leading to these failures.
According to the report, the problem appears clearly in the frequent absence of the police in the areas where the crimes were committed, and also in the serious failures in the performance of the occupation army soldiers who arrive at the crime scene, yet often stand aside and do not act to stop the crime. They don’t detain settlers, nor do they try to guard the crime scene until the arrival of the police.
Moreover, the report put forward another issue that the Palestinians don’t trust in the capabilities or willingness of the police to provide them with assistance or to investigate their complaints. According to Yesh Din, this can be easily seen through the majority's decision not to make a complaint to the police.
Read or full report [PDF]
The Unseen Criminals
Most cases of attacks on Palestinians are closed after under the “unknown perpetrator” clause. The police have wondrous ways of unseeing criminals.
At the center of our new report, Mock Enforcement, dealing with the continued failure of Israel to enforce the law on Israeli civilians in the West Bank who harm Palestinians, stands a depressing piece of data: the police’s failure rate in investigating these crimes stands at 85.3 percent. The report examined 996 cases closed by the police, and found that the main clause for closing them is UP – “unknown perpetrator.” 593 of the cases examined were closed for that reason, which means the police did not manage to find suspects who committed the crime.
The clause is the official reason given by the police for the decision to close the case. The Israeli Police Command notes nine clauses for closing an investigative case, among them lack of guilt, lack of sufficient evidence, the fact that the suspect is a minor and, of course, unknown perpetrator.
The question that keeps surfacing when a case is closed due to UP asks just how extensive was the police’s search for the criminals. An examination of a series of cases shows that all too often that search was partial at best. At worse, it is farcical. Let’s deal with some examples, since there are some facts that simply cannot be conveyed by numbers.
On September 3rd 2009, three Israeli civilians – two of them wearing a hood, one with his face visible who was holding a stick and was walking a dog – attacked Ibrahim Tawil, a resident of the village of Faratha, on his land. The three attackers were joined by three others, all of them wearing hoods, and together they removed Ibarhim’s belt and assaulted him with it. They then undressed him, stole his wallet and watch and left him in his underwear.
In his police interrogation, Tawil identified the clear-faced attacker in the police album. However, an inner police memo claimed that according to intelligence, the person had no connection to the region or the incident. Had the police bothered to make the minimal effort and examined the suspect’s criminal record, it would have found that the attacker had a rich past of violence against Palestinians, including a conviction for using firearms. But this basic action was not undertaken, the suspect was not summoned for an interrogation and the case was closed under the UP clause.
Let’s recap: even when the Palestinian victim identified an attacker known to the police — who attacked him with his face exposed — the police managed to avoid interrogating the suspect. We appealed, and the suspect was summoned for interrogation (a year after the incident) and denied his alleged involvement. The interrogator did not ask him for an alibi, and the case was closed – again – under the UP clause.
Tawil, who lives near the Havat Gilad settlement outpost, isn’t very lucky. Two months after the first incident, on November 26th 2009, he was attacked by four hooded people who came from the direction of the outpost — two of them arriving on the scene with dogs. He was beaten with a stone on his head and a stick on his back. The timely arrival of other village residents probably prevented more serious damage. Tawil lodged a complaint with the police, describing the clothes they wore noting that he was also attacked two months earlier.
The police closed the file a month later, again claiming the unknown perpetrator clause. Even though at the time the number of people residing in Havat Gilad was 20 at most, the police declined to use the simple method of checking who among them owns dogs fitting the description given by Tawil.
Tawil, of course, is not the only victim whose attacker was never to be found. On March 17th 2011, a group of hooded Israeli civilians assaulted Sami Snoubar, a Palestinian working at construction in the settlement of Shiloh, striking his head with a metal bar and attacking him with pepper spray. The identification was partial in the extreme, relying on the testimony of a medic who identified two of them, but qualified his statement by saying he may have seen them at other incidents in the area.
The police interrogated three suspects; all of them refused to cooperate with the investigation. Two of the suspects gave an alibi, which the Samaria Judea Police Department, displaying its usual diligence, failed to check. The case of the third suspect is more shocking: he refused to cooperate with the investigation, declining to give an alibi, and in response the investigator offered him an alibi (!) by saying that the police will allow him to call his boss so that the latter could provide him with an alibi. The case was closed under the unknown perpetrator clause.
One of the most appalling cases is that of Yassin Rifa’i. On March 14th, 2011 a Civil Administration officer informed Rifa’I, a resident of the Palestinian village Anata, that the residents of the settlement of Talmon uprooted dozens of trees from his land – allegedly as vengeance for a murder. The management of the settlement accepted responsibility for the incident and compensated Rifa’I for the damage.
The police interrogated the settlement’s security officer, who was asked whether he knew who committed the crime. The officer responded that he “preferred to keep the information to himself.” This, allegedly, is obstruction of justice, but the police did not pressure the security officer in any way, and he did not face any disciplinary action. Nor did the police try to find the Civil Administration officer who contacted Rifa’i. After all, it is much easier to scrawl “unknown perpetrator” on the case than try and find who the perpetrator really was.
The picture that arises from these cases (and many others), backed up by data, is as gloomy as it is simple: the investigators are not really trying to find the suspects. It’s unclear whether this stems from a fear that success will lead to hostility toward them from the Jewish population; whether this is the spirit of command, saying “don’t succeed too much in this realm”; whether this is laziness or a quiet sympathy with the attackers. What is clear is that there is something beyond incompetence, something near-systematic.
And when it becomes systematic, how can you blame the Palestinians who decided not to bother with lodging a complaint?
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) in cooperation with the Palestinian Authority security apparatuses on Sunday launched a large-scale search for an Israeli truck driver after reporting his disappearance in Nablus.
According to Maariv newspaper, the driver left his home at four o'clock on Sunday morning in Yokneam city near Haifa, but he did not reach his destination, a settlement south of the West Bank
It said that the truck was found near one of the valleys in Nablus area.
Local sources said that the IOF closed the checkpoints of Hawara, south of Nablus, and Beit Furik to the east as well as the checkpoints of Badan in the north and Beit Iba in the West.
According to Maariv newspaper, the driver left his home at four o'clock on Sunday morning in Yokneam city near Haifa, but he did not reach his destination, a settlement south of the West Bank
It said that the truck was found near one of the valleys in Nablus area.
Local sources said that the IOF closed the checkpoints of Hawara, south of Nablus, and Beit Furik to the east as well as the checkpoints of Badan in the north and Beit Iba in the West.