Oppression continues for those who remain, however, and Israeli Attorney General, Menachem Mazuz, acknowledges the problem but does nothing to address it. He recently said "Enforcement of the law (to protect Palestinians) in the Territories is not only unsatisfactory, it is poor." Even Prime Minister Ehud Olmert admitted a reported Tel Rumeida assault was "not the first time" this happened, and official Israeli entities like the Karp and Shamgar Commissions sharply criticized Israeli authorities for failing to enforce the law and protect the rights of OPT residents, especially in Hebron.
Israeli authorities have known of the problem for years, yet it persists and is quietly condoned. Ian Christianson, head of the international observer force in Hebron (TIPH), was quoted saying "settlers go out almost every night and harm whoever lives near them, break windows and cause damage...." Many attacks are carried out by minors and for a reason. Under Israeli law that applies in the OPT, persons under age 12 aren't held criminally liable. Settlers know this and exploit the loophole by using their children to throw stones, break walls and commit other violent acts they can get away with. Violence is commonplace throughout the Territories in spite of IDF presence, and when children commit it they're immune from the law affecting adults that exists but isn't enforced.
High Israeli officials like former Defense Minister Amir Peretz shamelessly claimed that soldiers can't protect residents because they don't have enforcement powers. In fact, they're obligated to enforce the law on everyone, including violent settlers, under section 78 of the Order Regarding Defense Regulations. It empowers the army to arrest, without warrant authority, anyone (Palestinian or Jew) who violates the Order that covers the following acts: assault, throwing objects and intentionally destroying property.
The Procedure for Enforcing Law and Order on Israeli Offenders in the West Bank states: security forces must "take every action necessary to prevent harm to life, person, or property (and) to detain and arrest suspects who might flee from the scene." Section 6(3) of the Procedure states that the IDF must enforce the law until police arrive and take over.
Unfortunately, the Hebron Police Department has an appalling record. Instead of enforcing the law, it acts with "abominable helplessness" to show its contempt for residents while supporting settlers. It doesn't investigate violent incidents against Palestinians and ignores them when their officers are on the scene. A Yesh Din human rights organization study showed that 90% of police investigations were closed without charges being filed. This lets settlers break the law and get away with it. The IDF and police support them by refusing to uphold the law for everyone.
Harm to Palestinians by Soldiers and Police Officers
Soldiers and police also break the law routinely and often. Throughout occupied Palestine and in Hebron City Center, every night is Kristallnacht, and so are days. It makes life for residents intolerable because any time for any reason they're subject to daily house searches and seizures, random detainments and humiliating treatment and harassment along with security force-committed violence that ranges from slapping and kicking to bloody beatings and killings. They serve no purpose except to harass and punish, break the law, and persist at all hours of the day and night.
Beatings severe enough to kill are commonplace in Hebron, and over the years human rights organizations documented them. Many incidents take place near settler points where security is intense and settler demands are paramount. They include:
-- smashing a victim's head with a blunt instrument or against a wall;
-- hitting victims with rifle butts and clubs;
-- kicking them in the head and other parts of the body;
-- flinging them to the ground;
-- twisting arms and legs forcefully enough to cause injury;
-- stone-throwing and more that at times includes willful damage to property.
Consider the hypocrisy. Israeli authorities condemn these actions, but the military and police commit them in the same of "security." As a result, many violent acts aren't investigated, and when they are they're usually whitewashed. Since the second intifada began, the Military Police Investigations Unit undertook 427 investigations through early 2007 against soldiers in the West Bank. Of these, only 35 led to indictments, and since most incidents involved more than one soldier, over 92% of the time those involved were cleared of any offense.
As for police-committed violence, 82% of cases submitted to the Department for the Investigation of Police (DIP) resulted in no indictment indicating further whitewashing. Military and civilian authorities pay little attention to Israeli offenses. As a result, security forces get the message that these acts are allowed so it's no surprise they continue, and they involve more than violence.
I am a 72 year old, retired, progressive small businessman concerned about all the major national and world issues, committed to speak out and write about them.
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