Land Day in East Jerusalem, by Ahmad Sub Laban (Ir Amim)Eyewitness testimonies received by ACRI raise strong suspicions that police misconduct occurred during Land Day events in East Jerusalem (30 March 2012), namely that the Israeli police made use of excessive force and violence in dispersing demonstrations and in making arrests, leading to multiple injuries.
According to the information we have received, on March 30th a large number of undercover policemen arrived in the Issawiya neighborhood of Jerusalem where they proceeded to arrest 24 residents, most of them juveniles. The arrests were carried out brutally, with harsh violence, slapping, kicking, punching, pistol whips, beatings with night-sticks, the handcuffing of minors in public, the use of plastic cable ties as hand restraints that caused painful swelling, the attack of relatives who were trying to find out what happened to their family members, and the forced seating on the street of arrested minors while they were blindfolded, handcuffed, and in some cases, shackled by their legs. In a separate incident in which the police attempted to break up a demonstration at the Damascus Gate, there is strong reason to believe that the conduct of the police was both unreasonable and disproportionate.
In the letter to the Jerusalem District Police Commissioner, ACRI attorney Nisreen Alyan requested that an inquiry into police misconduct be opened in these incidents, examining the proportionality and reasonableness of the police’s use of force and their use of riot control measures, especially as implemented against minors. Atty. Alyan notes that though the police must respond to sensitive and exceptional situations in the line of carrying out their duties, they must nevertheless act reasonably and cautiously, and must use proportional, incremental measures in dealing with disturbances of the peace. Force may only be used after less injurious means have been exhausted, and even then, with no more than the required measure.
Below is the translation of the full letter.
April 5, 2012
Commissioner Niso Shaham
Jerusalem District Police Command
Re: Police misconduct in East Jerusalem on Land Day
Dear Sir,
1. We appeal to you following the incidents that took place on Land Day last Friday in East Jerusalem. From eyewitness testimonies that have reached us at ACRI, we strongly suspect that in several incidents throughout the city, the Jerusalem police utilized excessive physical force in dispersing demonstrations and carrying out arrests, actions which led to multiple injuries. We submit this appeal to request that an inquiry be opened into police conduct at these incidents, which led to injuries both numerous and serious, and that the police’s use of force and use of riot control measures in these incidents be examined regarding their proportionality and reasonableness. Furthermore, we demand that the police exhaust all other alternative means before making use of violent force, especially when dealing with juveniles.
2. We are aware of the fact that the police need to deal with and respond to sensitive and exceptional situations. Nevertheless, in the line of carrying out their duties, police officers must act reasonably and cautiously, and must use proportional, incremental measures in dealing with disturbances of the peace. Force may only be used after less injurious means have been exhausted, and even then, with no more force than necessary. This is the case regarding actions toward the rioters themselves, and all the more so regarding residents not involved in the disturbances, and the police must take special precautions not to endanger their safety.
3. According to information received by ACRI, on March 30th a very large number of undercover policemen arrived in the Issawiya neighborhood of Jerusalem where they proceeded to arrest 24 residents, most of them minors. Also from the information we’ve received, the arrests were carried out brutally, with harsh violence, slapping, kicking, punching, pistol whips, beatings with night-sticks, the handcuffing of minors in public, the use of plastic cable ties as hand restraints that caused painful swelling and tears among the arrested juveniles, the attack of relatives who were trying to find out what happened to their family members, and the forced seating on the street of arrested minors while they were blindfolded, handcuffed, and in some cases, shackled by their legs. (Attached are photos, marked Exhibit A.)
4. According to the testimony of the minors who were arrested, their humiliation and degradation continued after they arrived at the police station, where they were prevented from drinking water and going to the bathroom for several hours, despite their repeated requests to do so. One of the arrested juveniles who was injured told how he sat in the waiting and interrogation room bleeding, and how he was refused medical attention until after questioning. Only after he was transferred to an arrest cell did a doctor see him, at which point he was immediately sent to the hospital for treatment of the laceration to his head. (Attached is a more detailed article from the Walla Internet site from 2 April 2012 entitled “Palestinians: Border Police beat us while we were bound”)
5. Also, in their attempt to break up a demonstration at the Damascus Gate, there is reason to believe that police engaged in conduct that was unreasonable and disproportionate. According to eyewitness testimony, during the first part of the demonstration, when residents gathered and held a prayer service on the Musrara sidewalk opposite the Damascus Gate, the police displayed no opposition, as was appropriate under the circumstances. However, when the prayer service ended and people started to cross the street in the direction of the steps of the Damascus Gate, the police suddenly descended upon them, some of them attacking with night-sticks. Simultaneously the mounted police, who according to reports were especially brutal, led their horses galloping directly at the crowd, knocking people over to the ground, and in some cases riding over the fallen. Locals who tried to run out of the way fell on top of one another, and some were trampled. (Attached are photos, marked Exhibit B.)
6. According to the testimony of those present, the police commander on the scene never declared the gathering an “illegal assembly”, nor did he give locals any warning that they were breaking the law. Such a declaration would have had added importance, given that the local participants had little knowledge of Israeli law, particularly in regards to such sensitive incidents. Within their important role as keepers of the peace, the police must strive to reduce tensions and stamp out violence, but they also have an obligation to ensure that they do not harm civilians and their right to protest.
7. Additionally, during the multiple arrests made during these incidents, many policemen were on duty without identification badges and with their faces obscured by masks, a phenomenon that is becoming more and more common among police involved in these sort of incidents. The natural response to encountering such a policeman, devoid of a recognizable name or face, is fear – fear that he will abuse his powers and resort to violence. The deployment of masked policemen at a demonstration undermines the foundations of democracy, in that its sole purpose is to instill an air of fear and intimidation, and thus suppress dissent. We appeal to you as commissioner to instruct all Jerusalem police officers to immediately cease using masks during dispersal of demonstrations or other police activities, and that you take effective steps in order to end this disturbing practice. (For more on this matter, see ACRI’s appeal to the Israel Police Commissioner from 22 March 2011.)
8. Furthermore, the police conduct as described above raises concerns about the blatant violation of the Youth Law (Adjudication, Punishment and Methods of Treatment), 5731-1971, and policemen exceeding their authority to use force. The National Headquarters Police Ordinance (Chapter 14) details under what circumstances it is permitted under law for police officers to utilize force; these include: for the purpose of self-defense from attack or for preventing a violent crime; for carrying out the arrest of someone who is resisting or attempting to escape arrest; for breaking up an uncontrolled riot; in response to someone resisting legal incarceration or someone attempting to escape legal incarceration; in order to conduct an external bodily search of a suspect who refuses to allow it (only with the approval of a ranking police officer and only after the suspect has been given an opportunity to explain why he objects to the search.)
Together with these provisos, the ordinance explicitly states that under these exceptional circumstances, no more force than the minimum amount necessary may be utilized to achieve the stated police objective. According to constitutional principles, enshrined in Israel’s Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty, and in accordance with the Police Ordinance, police powers that harm the rights of civilians may only be employed if they are explicitly granted to the police by law, serve an appropriate purpose, and do not exceed the necessary minimum injury to civilian rights.
9. In light of this, we request that you open an inquiry to determine whether the police conduct described above did not deviate from the limits of authority granted to the police. We further ask that you closely examine whether the measures chosen to disperse the demonstration were proportionate and reasonable, whether these were carried out according to police regulations, whether there were alternative means that could have been used to the same purpose, and to what extent the use of police force in these incidents stood within the rules of the law. With the results of this inquiry, police officers in the field should be made to review proper police procedure and be explicitly and strictly forbidden from deviating from those procedures, in order to prevent incidents like these from happening in the future.
10. We would appreciate your earliest possible response.
Sincerely,
Nisreen Alyan, attorney
Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI)
