20 feb 2012
Omar Abu Jariban, 35
by Chaim Levinson
After being seriously hurt in an accident, the thief was dumped in the middle of the night, shoeless and clad only in a thin hospital gown. Police and hospital staff blame everyone but themselves for his death that night.
The figure at the side of the road was completely still. A pedestrian who saw him in the early morning light came close, and found the body of a young man. He was barefoot and clad in a thin hospital gown from the Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer.
It was only a few days later – after the man’s family was located in the Gaza Strip and brought to Israel for DNA testing – that his identity was clarified. The dead man was Omar Abu Jariban, 35, an illegal resident in Israel. Three days before his corpse was found he had been released from the hospital and taken to the Rehovot police station.
At the station he seemed confused, unable to fathom what was going on around him, non-communicative and barely ambulatory. Instead of readmitting him to hospital, senior police officers at the station decided to “return him to the territories” – a code phrase meaning dumping him at a road junction in the middle of the night. Three policemen were sent to take the man and leave him by the side of the road.
Since then, for four and a half years police officers have thrown the blame around, at each other and also against the Sheba Medical Center. Documents which have reached Haaretz attest to a sequence of mishaps and misdoings that night, starting with the hospital, continuing with medical procedures enacted by the police and the Israel Prison Service, and concluding with a low-ranking police officer at the Rehovot station.
Omar Abu Jariban’s final journey began on May 28, 2008. That day, together with a friend from Ramallah, he stole a car and set off on Route 6, the Trans-Israel Highway. The two drove wildly, and close to the Soreq interchange crashed into another car, injuring four people. Badly hurt, Abu Jariban was taken to Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot. Due to the severity of his condition, he was transferred to Sheba. The Rehovot police assumed responsibility for investigating the accident and the car theft.
When he reached the Sheba Medical Center, Abu Jariban was classified as an anonymous patient. Brought into an operating theater, his condition was diagnosed – haemorrhaging in the brain, a broken clavicle, fractured pelvis and a torn aorta. The police were told that the patient’s treatment would last at least three weeks. On June 5 he was transferred to the orthopedic ward; convalescing there, he developed pneumonia.
A week later, on Thursday June 12, the medical team decided that Abu Jariban had concluded the essential part of his treatment, and could be moved out of the hospital. At 11:18 Dr. Gal Fichman signed Abu Jariban’s release form. The medical opinion was not grim – the patient was fit for release, and needed to do some exercise at home: “He can press down fully on his left leg, and partially step on his right foot.
Recommendation: Walk with the use of a brace. Can take pain-killers if needed. He should report to an outpatient clinic for a follow-up check in six weeks. Home physiotherapy to strengthen muscles.” The doctor signed a sick-leave pass for 45 days.
Just 38 minutes went by, and a nurse prepared another discharge form. In this document, Abu Jariban’s condition was listed as being far more serious. “Orientation – off and on. Communication skills – off and on. Mobility – not stable when walking. Periodically confused. Probability of falling. Way of eating: Needs partial help. The patient was washed and attended to in bed. Urinates via catheter. The patient is confused. Needs help eating and drinking.”
Two policemen from the Rehovot police station came to take Abu Jariban. A nurse, Igor Bleiber, met them. One of the policeman, Ro’i Baram, subsequently testified to what he saw that day: “The detainee was lying with his arms tied to the bed, bandaged. We saw an adult diaper and a catheter.”
Speaking with Haaretz, Baram said: “It seemed a bit strange to bring a person in a diaper to the station. We spoke with Igor, who said there was no problem taking him away. He told another nurse to dress the suspect, and he saw that we handcuffed the man and took him from the hospital.”
When the policemen reached their car, they grasped that they really had a problem. In testimony given to the police officer assigned to investigate the episode, Baram related: “The nurse came with us, wheeling [Abu Jariban] in a wheelchair, and then he returned the wheelchair. He couldn’t move and so we lifted him into the police car.
His pants kept falling down. When we reached the police station, I went off to get a wheelchair in order to bring him inside. When we moved him into the chair, the catheter opened. Without help, he fastened it anew. Then we wheeled him into the station.”
Why was Abu Jariban released from the hospital even though it was clear that he required constant medical monitoring? After his death, the police and hospital traded accusations. Staff at the Sheba Medical Center claim that the man self-evidently required continued medical attention at an Israel Prison Service facility.
“I think it was relayed to the police that he should be referred to a medical rehabilitation center,” testified Dr. Fichman to police investigators. “We wouldn’t have released him had there not been somebody who could have taken him for continued rehabilitation treatment.”
The police, in contrast, say that nothing along these lines was said to them. Abu Jariban’s medical documents indicate that nothing was recorded about the need to transfer him to any other medical facility. On the contrary: The release orders refer to rehabilitation treatment to be undertaken at home. In such cases, the hospital is not eager to volunteer prolonged medical treatment funded out of its own budget.
Chief Superintendent Yossi Bachar, commander of the Rehovot police station, subsequently testified to the investigating officer that he operated on the assumption that “the hospital simply wanted to free the bed.”
When Abu Jariban reached the police station, officers on hand soon realized that something was amiss. “I received him at the station, and I had a bad feeling,” one policeman later testified. “I never received a detainee in such a condition, with a catheter still in his arm.”
‘Humanitarian reasons of conscience’
Bachar came onto the scene at this point. This is when a sequence of misdoings started, culminating in the Palestinian man’s tragic end. First of all, policemen at the station decided to turn to the physician responsible for police matters in the region. This physician decided not to make the trip to Rehovot and examine the patient; instead he asked that the release report’s contents be read to him over the telephone.
After this consultation, and in view of Abu Jariban’s condition, the police decided to admit him for convalescence at the Israel Prison Service’s medical facility, but the Prison Service claimed not to have any vacant beds.
Rehovot police made a number of efforts to identify the patient-suspect. Bachar brought in Shin Bet security service investigators, but they reported that they lacked any intelligence information that might help identify him. The police consulted with colleagues from Rishon Letzion, but they said that their suspect-identification station was not in operation. Bachar decided to release the suspect, despite the fact that he had not seen him, and hadn’t ascertained whether there was any place to where the man should be brought.
Testifying to police investigators, Bachar said that the catheter didn’t set off any red lights. “My grandfather went about with a catheter, and that didn’t seem unusual to me,” he said. “I noted that he needed monitoring, that there was no cell in which he could be held, and that in all likelihood, somebody who was in a road accident wouldn’t race off to steal another car.
I also noted that he had a catheter, and that the only thing which bothered me was that he had stolen a car and was being released, that perhaps he was a terrorist or somebody sought by the Shin Bet. Despite all this, it was nighttime and the person had been released from a hospital after an accident, and so for humanitarian reasons of conscience, I decided to let him go to his family.”
Bachar actually decided to take Abu Jariban to the police station at Kfar Sava for a last attempt to identify him. Should this not produce anything, the station commander decided, the suspect would be released at the Maccabim border crossing. Orders along these lines were relayed to Baruch Peretz, the officer on duty during the shift.
Peretz, 38, formerly served in the Border Police. He served as an officer in the Rehovot station’s community branch, and sometimes worked as the duty officer for shifts at the station. He was the man assigned to take care of Abu Jariban.
At 10 P.M., Abu Jariban’s death march began. A low-ranking policeman, Assaf Yakutieli, together with a volunteer policeman, put the Palestinian in a police car. Without wondering whether what they were doing was legal, they grabbed Abu Jariban under the arms, and stuffed him into the squad car; the volunteer folded his legs into the vehicle.
The police car went to Kfar Sava, only to be informed by officers there that they were unable to identify the man. Yakutieli telephoned Peretz. The duty officer told him to leave the suspect at the Maccabim crossing point.
The commander of this checkpoint refused to take responsibility for Abu Jariban, however, and so the police car continued to Route 443, toward the Atarot border crossing ?(which has subsequently been removed?). There, too, Border Police refused to take responsibility for the man. After the third such refusal, Yakutieli phoned the duty officer and told him that he would leave Abu Jariban at a well-lit junction, so that he would be picked up by Palestinians.
At 2:50 A.M. Abu Jariban was taken out of the car on Route 45, between the Ofer army base and the Atarot crossing point. He was left by the side of the road. The policemen apparently did not know that Palestinian vehicles were not allowed to travel on this road. Abu Jariban was left to his own devices, wearing his hospital gown and with the discharge papers in his pocket. The catheter was still with him. He was barefoot. The policemen left neither food nor drink with him; they reported that they had completed the mission.
Yakutieli subsequently testified: “Together with the volunteer, we took the detainee out of the car and placed him behind the safety railing so that he wouldn’t be hurt. He wasn’t removed very far from the road – he was left in a place where he would be able to hitch-hike a lift. We made a report and then drove off.”
The police investigator asked him to clarify his reasoning about the suspect’s ability to get a lift on a speedy highway. Yakutieli replied: “I expected that cars would stop at the side of the road, that someone would take him in and give him a ride. All told, he is one of their people and the Arabs are known for their solidarity.”
On Sunday morning, June 15, a pedestrian discovered Abu Jariban’s corpse. A bread roll and a soft drink can were beside the body. Subsequently, police argued that these objects prove that the young man was able to take care of himself. The autopsy established that he died of dehydration.
Binyamin Region police turned to the Sheba Medical Center for help identifying the body. From this point, the police appointed an investigating officer, and Abu Jariban’s family was contacted.
Speaking from the Gaza Strip, Abu Jariban’s brother Mohammed says that the family is outraged by the death. “They simply threw him to the dogs,” Mohammed says. “Had they brought him to the Erez border crossing, we would have taken care of him.”
Passing the buck
The investigating officer’s report, which has reached Haaretz, points to a long list of failings. “In the final analysis, an unhealthy person who was the responsibility of institutions of the State of Israel was left at a junction at 3 A.M., dressed in a hospital gown, barefoot, with a catheter, barely able to walk; he was left with no food or drink, and without the basic assistance he required,” the report noted.
Among other misdoings, the report notes: “The police physicians and the Prison Service doctor reached the decision that the illegal resident could be detained only with medical supervision, but they didn’t clarify to the police commanders anything about the man’s health condition on his release. The hospital was not informed by any police representative that the detainee was being taken into custody ...
“The regional commander and the commander of the Rehovot police station believed that the illegal resident was released from the hospital the way any patient is released.
A specific order came from Bachar to brief Peretz that the illegal resident should be taken to the Maccabim crossing point, and brought to a designated person; nobody confirmed that this order was carried out. Peretz trusted the head of the group of policemen who told him on the phone that he knew the area very well, since he lives in the territories, and that he would leave the man in a secure area close to the entrance of a village.
Later this policeman claimed that he once lived in Jerusalem and would travel on Route 443 to Tel Aviv, but had no knowledge regarding the entrances to villages. Apparently he lied about his knowledge of the region.”
As a result of the police investigation, negligent homicide charges were filed in March 2009 against Peretz and Yakutieli. Evidence has yet to be submitted in a trial of the pair; meantime, Yakutieli has been appointed an instructor in a police operations school, and Peretz has been named officer in charge of volunteers at the Lod police station.
Peretz blames his superior officers who gave him the order. He says that Bachar is responsible, and recently petitioned the High Court of Justice to indict his commanders, including Bachar, and the Sheba Medical Center in the case. The volunteer and policeman who accompanied Peretz on the fateful night journey have not been charged.
During the internal police investigation, Bachar was questioned under warning about a possible indictment on charges of reckless homicide. He faced police disciplinary charges, but his career has advanced steadily since this tragedy. Two years ago he was promoted to the rank of commander, and appointed operations officer for the central region. He is currently on a study leave.
The police response to this report: “This sorrowful case has been reviewed a number of times by the police internal investigations unit and the state prosecutor’s office, and a decision was reached to indict two policemen. The promotion of Commander Bachar was reviewed by the police and the Public Security Ministry, and he was found worthy of promotion. We do not intend to relate to details of these events, as judgment about them is pending in the High Court.”
The Sheba Medical Center’s response: “The hospital’s staff made considerable efforts to save the life of Abu Jariban, and to attend to his health. When he was released, police responsible for him were informed that he should be brought to a convalescence and care facility. From the moment he was relayed to the police, we had no control over the sequence of events leading to his being found, dead.”
Attorney Zadok Hugi, who represents Chief Inspector Baruch Peretz: “After higher-ranking police officers decided on [Abu Jariban’s] release, Peretz had no leeway or discretion, and could not disobey this order. More than anything, responsibility here rests with the hospital.”
Jack Khoury assisted in preparing this report.
Haaretz: Palestinian man died in Gaza after hospital dump by Israeli police
Sheba Medical Center, where Jariban was treated before being dumped in Gaza by police
by Allison Deger
A Palestinian man died after a hospital dumping by Israeli police five years ago, an investigation by Haaretz shows. Omar Abu Jariban was "left for dead in Gaza...in the middle of the night, shoeless and clad only in a thin hospital gown." Haaretz has now reconstructed the timeline of events; the investigation gives a breath of accountability to a case in which officers under investigation for reckless homicide have been promoted, not convicted. And both hospital staff and police blame each other for the death of the 35-year-old Palestinian.
Haaretz’s Chaim Levinson writes:
Three days before his corpse was found he had been released from the hospital and taken to the Rehovot police station. At the station he seemed confused, unable to fathom what was going on around him, non-communicative and barely ambulatory. Instead of readmitting him to hospital, senior police officers at the station decided to 'return him to the territories' – a code phrase meaning dumping him at a road junction in the middle of the night. Three policemen were sent to take the man and leave him by the side of the road.
Haaretz found conflicting medical documents on Jariban’s condition prior to his release. The doctor attending over the Palestinian man signed a medical form that indicated Jariban was stable, able to walk and needed follow-up in an outpatient clinic. A contradictory report was made by a nurse who treated Jariban only 38 minutes later:
'Orientation – off and on. Communication skills – off and on. Mobility – not stable when walking. Periodically confused. Probability of falling. Way of eating: Needs partial help. The patient was washed and attended to in bed. Urinates via catheter. The patient is confused. Needs help eating and drinking.'
Additionally, moments prior to his release, an officer on site described Jariban as "tied to the bed, bandaged" wearing "an adult diaper and a catheter." When transferred into police custody, he was unidentified, but still wearing the catheter and diaper.
The police then sought to identify the man and find a prison medical facility to admit him. When no prison or police doctor would attend to him--the prison citing a lack of beds-- a decision was made to dump him at a crossing to Gaza, though officers had yet to identify him and he was barely conscious.
Haaretz’s timeline of Abu Jariban's last night:
At 10 P.M., Abu Jariban's death march began. A low-ranking policeman, Assaf Yakutieli, together with a volunteer policeman, put the Palestinian in a police car. Without wondering whether what they were doing was legal, they grabbed Abu Jariban under the arms, and stuffed him into the squad car; the volunteer folded his legs into the vehicle.
The police car went to Kfar Sava, only to be informed by officers there that they were unable to identify the man. Yakutieli telephoned Peretz. The duty officer told him to leave the suspect at the Maccabim crossing point.
The commander of this checkpoint refused to take responsibility for Abu Jariban, however, and so the police car continued to Route 443, toward the Atarot border crossing (which has subsequently been removed ). There, too, Border Police refused to take responsibility for the man. After the third such refusal, Yakutieli phoned the duty officer and told him that he would leave Abu Jariban at a well-lit junction, so that he would be picked up by Palestinians.
At 2:50 A.M. Abu Jariban was taken out of the car on Route 45, between the Ofer army base and the Atarot crossing point. He was left by the side of the road. The policemen apparently did not know that Palestinian vehicles were not allowed to travel on this road. Abu Jariban was left to his own devices, wearing his hospital gown and with the discharge papers in his pocket. The catheter was still with him. He was barefoot. The policemen left neither food nor drink with him; they reported that they had completed the mission.
Yakutieli subsequently testified: 'Together with the volunteer, we took the detainee out of the car and placed him behind the safety railing so that he wouldn't be hurt. He wasn't removed very far from the road he was left in a place where he would be able to hitch-hike a lift. We made a report and then drove off.'
The police investigator asked him to clarify his reasoning about the suspect's ability to get a lift on a speedy highway. Yakutieli replied: 'I expected that cars would stop at the side of the road, that someone would take him in and give him a ride. All told, he is one of their people and the Arabs are known for their solidarity.'
On Sunday morning, June 15, a pedestrian discovered Abu Jariban's corpse. A bread roll and a soft drink can were beside the body. Subsequently, police argued that these objects prove that the young man was able to take care of himself. The autopsy established that he died of dehydration.
Jariban’s family is enraged by his death. His brother Mohammed told Haaretz "they simply threw him to the dogs," continuing "had they brought him to the Erez border crossing, we would have taken care of him."
In response to Haaretz’s report and Jariban’s family’s remarks, the police officers said the case was "sorrowful," and again stood by their decision to promote the criminally indicted commanding officer.
by Chaim Levinson
After being seriously hurt in an accident, the thief was dumped in the middle of the night, shoeless and clad only in a thin hospital gown. Police and hospital staff blame everyone but themselves for his death that night.
The figure at the side of the road was completely still. A pedestrian who saw him in the early morning light came close, and found the body of a young man. He was barefoot and clad in a thin hospital gown from the Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer.
It was only a few days later – after the man’s family was located in the Gaza Strip and brought to Israel for DNA testing – that his identity was clarified. The dead man was Omar Abu Jariban, 35, an illegal resident in Israel. Three days before his corpse was found he had been released from the hospital and taken to the Rehovot police station.
At the station he seemed confused, unable to fathom what was going on around him, non-communicative and barely ambulatory. Instead of readmitting him to hospital, senior police officers at the station decided to “return him to the territories” – a code phrase meaning dumping him at a road junction in the middle of the night. Three policemen were sent to take the man and leave him by the side of the road.
Since then, for four and a half years police officers have thrown the blame around, at each other and also against the Sheba Medical Center. Documents which have reached Haaretz attest to a sequence of mishaps and misdoings that night, starting with the hospital, continuing with medical procedures enacted by the police and the Israel Prison Service, and concluding with a low-ranking police officer at the Rehovot station.
Omar Abu Jariban’s final journey began on May 28, 2008. That day, together with a friend from Ramallah, he stole a car and set off on Route 6, the Trans-Israel Highway. The two drove wildly, and close to the Soreq interchange crashed into another car, injuring four people. Badly hurt, Abu Jariban was taken to Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot. Due to the severity of his condition, he was transferred to Sheba. The Rehovot police assumed responsibility for investigating the accident and the car theft.
When he reached the Sheba Medical Center, Abu Jariban was classified as an anonymous patient. Brought into an operating theater, his condition was diagnosed – haemorrhaging in the brain, a broken clavicle, fractured pelvis and a torn aorta. The police were told that the patient’s treatment would last at least three weeks. On June 5 he was transferred to the orthopedic ward; convalescing there, he developed pneumonia.
A week later, on Thursday June 12, the medical team decided that Abu Jariban had concluded the essential part of his treatment, and could be moved out of the hospital. At 11:18 Dr. Gal Fichman signed Abu Jariban’s release form. The medical opinion was not grim – the patient was fit for release, and needed to do some exercise at home: “He can press down fully on his left leg, and partially step on his right foot.
Recommendation: Walk with the use of a brace. Can take pain-killers if needed. He should report to an outpatient clinic for a follow-up check in six weeks. Home physiotherapy to strengthen muscles.” The doctor signed a sick-leave pass for 45 days.
Just 38 minutes went by, and a nurse prepared another discharge form. In this document, Abu Jariban’s condition was listed as being far more serious. “Orientation – off and on. Communication skills – off and on. Mobility – not stable when walking. Periodically confused. Probability of falling. Way of eating: Needs partial help. The patient was washed and attended to in bed. Urinates via catheter. The patient is confused. Needs help eating and drinking.”
Two policemen from the Rehovot police station came to take Abu Jariban. A nurse, Igor Bleiber, met them. One of the policeman, Ro’i Baram, subsequently testified to what he saw that day: “The detainee was lying with his arms tied to the bed, bandaged. We saw an adult diaper and a catheter.”
Speaking with Haaretz, Baram said: “It seemed a bit strange to bring a person in a diaper to the station. We spoke with Igor, who said there was no problem taking him away. He told another nurse to dress the suspect, and he saw that we handcuffed the man and took him from the hospital.”
When the policemen reached their car, they grasped that they really had a problem. In testimony given to the police officer assigned to investigate the episode, Baram related: “The nurse came with us, wheeling [Abu Jariban] in a wheelchair, and then he returned the wheelchair. He couldn’t move and so we lifted him into the police car.
His pants kept falling down. When we reached the police station, I went off to get a wheelchair in order to bring him inside. When we moved him into the chair, the catheter opened. Without help, he fastened it anew. Then we wheeled him into the station.”
Why was Abu Jariban released from the hospital even though it was clear that he required constant medical monitoring? After his death, the police and hospital traded accusations. Staff at the Sheba Medical Center claim that the man self-evidently required continued medical attention at an Israel Prison Service facility.
“I think it was relayed to the police that he should be referred to a medical rehabilitation center,” testified Dr. Fichman to police investigators. “We wouldn’t have released him had there not been somebody who could have taken him for continued rehabilitation treatment.”
The police, in contrast, say that nothing along these lines was said to them. Abu Jariban’s medical documents indicate that nothing was recorded about the need to transfer him to any other medical facility. On the contrary: The release orders refer to rehabilitation treatment to be undertaken at home. In such cases, the hospital is not eager to volunteer prolonged medical treatment funded out of its own budget.
Chief Superintendent Yossi Bachar, commander of the Rehovot police station, subsequently testified to the investigating officer that he operated on the assumption that “the hospital simply wanted to free the bed.”
When Abu Jariban reached the police station, officers on hand soon realized that something was amiss. “I received him at the station, and I had a bad feeling,” one policeman later testified. “I never received a detainee in such a condition, with a catheter still in his arm.”
‘Humanitarian reasons of conscience’
Bachar came onto the scene at this point. This is when a sequence of misdoings started, culminating in the Palestinian man’s tragic end. First of all, policemen at the station decided to turn to the physician responsible for police matters in the region. This physician decided not to make the trip to Rehovot and examine the patient; instead he asked that the release report’s contents be read to him over the telephone.
After this consultation, and in view of Abu Jariban’s condition, the police decided to admit him for convalescence at the Israel Prison Service’s medical facility, but the Prison Service claimed not to have any vacant beds.
Rehovot police made a number of efforts to identify the patient-suspect. Bachar brought in Shin Bet security service investigators, but they reported that they lacked any intelligence information that might help identify him. The police consulted with colleagues from Rishon Letzion, but they said that their suspect-identification station was not in operation. Bachar decided to release the suspect, despite the fact that he had not seen him, and hadn’t ascertained whether there was any place to where the man should be brought.
Testifying to police investigators, Bachar said that the catheter didn’t set off any red lights. “My grandfather went about with a catheter, and that didn’t seem unusual to me,” he said. “I noted that he needed monitoring, that there was no cell in which he could be held, and that in all likelihood, somebody who was in a road accident wouldn’t race off to steal another car.
I also noted that he had a catheter, and that the only thing which bothered me was that he had stolen a car and was being released, that perhaps he was a terrorist or somebody sought by the Shin Bet. Despite all this, it was nighttime and the person had been released from a hospital after an accident, and so for humanitarian reasons of conscience, I decided to let him go to his family.”
Bachar actually decided to take Abu Jariban to the police station at Kfar Sava for a last attempt to identify him. Should this not produce anything, the station commander decided, the suspect would be released at the Maccabim border crossing. Orders along these lines were relayed to Baruch Peretz, the officer on duty during the shift.
Peretz, 38, formerly served in the Border Police. He served as an officer in the Rehovot station’s community branch, and sometimes worked as the duty officer for shifts at the station. He was the man assigned to take care of Abu Jariban.
At 10 P.M., Abu Jariban’s death march began. A low-ranking policeman, Assaf Yakutieli, together with a volunteer policeman, put the Palestinian in a police car. Without wondering whether what they were doing was legal, they grabbed Abu Jariban under the arms, and stuffed him into the squad car; the volunteer folded his legs into the vehicle.
The police car went to Kfar Sava, only to be informed by officers there that they were unable to identify the man. Yakutieli telephoned Peretz. The duty officer told him to leave the suspect at the Maccabim crossing point.
The commander of this checkpoint refused to take responsibility for Abu Jariban, however, and so the police car continued to Route 443, toward the Atarot border crossing ?(which has subsequently been removed?). There, too, Border Police refused to take responsibility for the man. After the third such refusal, Yakutieli phoned the duty officer and told him that he would leave Abu Jariban at a well-lit junction, so that he would be picked up by Palestinians.
At 2:50 A.M. Abu Jariban was taken out of the car on Route 45, between the Ofer army base and the Atarot crossing point. He was left by the side of the road. The policemen apparently did not know that Palestinian vehicles were not allowed to travel on this road. Abu Jariban was left to his own devices, wearing his hospital gown and with the discharge papers in his pocket. The catheter was still with him. He was barefoot. The policemen left neither food nor drink with him; they reported that they had completed the mission.
Yakutieli subsequently testified: “Together with the volunteer, we took the detainee out of the car and placed him behind the safety railing so that he wouldn’t be hurt. He wasn’t removed very far from the road – he was left in a place where he would be able to hitch-hike a lift. We made a report and then drove off.”
The police investigator asked him to clarify his reasoning about the suspect’s ability to get a lift on a speedy highway. Yakutieli replied: “I expected that cars would stop at the side of the road, that someone would take him in and give him a ride. All told, he is one of their people and the Arabs are known for their solidarity.”
On Sunday morning, June 15, a pedestrian discovered Abu Jariban’s corpse. A bread roll and a soft drink can were beside the body. Subsequently, police argued that these objects prove that the young man was able to take care of himself. The autopsy established that he died of dehydration.
Binyamin Region police turned to the Sheba Medical Center for help identifying the body. From this point, the police appointed an investigating officer, and Abu Jariban’s family was contacted.
Speaking from the Gaza Strip, Abu Jariban’s brother Mohammed says that the family is outraged by the death. “They simply threw him to the dogs,” Mohammed says. “Had they brought him to the Erez border crossing, we would have taken care of him.”
Passing the buck
The investigating officer’s report, which has reached Haaretz, points to a long list of failings. “In the final analysis, an unhealthy person who was the responsibility of institutions of the State of Israel was left at a junction at 3 A.M., dressed in a hospital gown, barefoot, with a catheter, barely able to walk; he was left with no food or drink, and without the basic assistance he required,” the report noted.
Among other misdoings, the report notes: “The police physicians and the Prison Service doctor reached the decision that the illegal resident could be detained only with medical supervision, but they didn’t clarify to the police commanders anything about the man’s health condition on his release. The hospital was not informed by any police representative that the detainee was being taken into custody ...
“The regional commander and the commander of the Rehovot police station believed that the illegal resident was released from the hospital the way any patient is released.
A specific order came from Bachar to brief Peretz that the illegal resident should be taken to the Maccabim crossing point, and brought to a designated person; nobody confirmed that this order was carried out. Peretz trusted the head of the group of policemen who told him on the phone that he knew the area very well, since he lives in the territories, and that he would leave the man in a secure area close to the entrance of a village.
Later this policeman claimed that he once lived in Jerusalem and would travel on Route 443 to Tel Aviv, but had no knowledge regarding the entrances to villages. Apparently he lied about his knowledge of the region.”
As a result of the police investigation, negligent homicide charges were filed in March 2009 against Peretz and Yakutieli. Evidence has yet to be submitted in a trial of the pair; meantime, Yakutieli has been appointed an instructor in a police operations school, and Peretz has been named officer in charge of volunteers at the Lod police station.
Peretz blames his superior officers who gave him the order. He says that Bachar is responsible, and recently petitioned the High Court of Justice to indict his commanders, including Bachar, and the Sheba Medical Center in the case. The volunteer and policeman who accompanied Peretz on the fateful night journey have not been charged.
During the internal police investigation, Bachar was questioned under warning about a possible indictment on charges of reckless homicide. He faced police disciplinary charges, but his career has advanced steadily since this tragedy. Two years ago he was promoted to the rank of commander, and appointed operations officer for the central region. He is currently on a study leave.
The police response to this report: “This sorrowful case has been reviewed a number of times by the police internal investigations unit and the state prosecutor’s office, and a decision was reached to indict two policemen. The promotion of Commander Bachar was reviewed by the police and the Public Security Ministry, and he was found worthy of promotion. We do not intend to relate to details of these events, as judgment about them is pending in the High Court.”
The Sheba Medical Center’s response: “The hospital’s staff made considerable efforts to save the life of Abu Jariban, and to attend to his health. When he was released, police responsible for him were informed that he should be brought to a convalescence and care facility. From the moment he was relayed to the police, we had no control over the sequence of events leading to his being found, dead.”
Attorney Zadok Hugi, who represents Chief Inspector Baruch Peretz: “After higher-ranking police officers decided on [Abu Jariban’s] release, Peretz had no leeway or discretion, and could not disobey this order. More than anything, responsibility here rests with the hospital.”
Jack Khoury assisted in preparing this report.
Haaretz: Palestinian man died in Gaza after hospital dump by Israeli police
Sheba Medical Center, where Jariban was treated before being dumped in Gaza by police
by Allison Deger
A Palestinian man died after a hospital dumping by Israeli police five years ago, an investigation by Haaretz shows. Omar Abu Jariban was "left for dead in Gaza...in the middle of the night, shoeless and clad only in a thin hospital gown." Haaretz has now reconstructed the timeline of events; the investigation gives a breath of accountability to a case in which officers under investigation for reckless homicide have been promoted, not convicted. And both hospital staff and police blame each other for the death of the 35-year-old Palestinian.
Haaretz’s Chaim Levinson writes:
Three days before his corpse was found he had been released from the hospital and taken to the Rehovot police station. At the station he seemed confused, unable to fathom what was going on around him, non-communicative and barely ambulatory. Instead of readmitting him to hospital, senior police officers at the station decided to 'return him to the territories' – a code phrase meaning dumping him at a road junction in the middle of the night. Three policemen were sent to take the man and leave him by the side of the road.
Haaretz found conflicting medical documents on Jariban’s condition prior to his release. The doctor attending over the Palestinian man signed a medical form that indicated Jariban was stable, able to walk and needed follow-up in an outpatient clinic. A contradictory report was made by a nurse who treated Jariban only 38 minutes later:
'Orientation – off and on. Communication skills – off and on. Mobility – not stable when walking. Periodically confused. Probability of falling. Way of eating: Needs partial help. The patient was washed and attended to in bed. Urinates via catheter. The patient is confused. Needs help eating and drinking.'
Additionally, moments prior to his release, an officer on site described Jariban as "tied to the bed, bandaged" wearing "an adult diaper and a catheter." When transferred into police custody, he was unidentified, but still wearing the catheter and diaper.
The police then sought to identify the man and find a prison medical facility to admit him. When no prison or police doctor would attend to him--the prison citing a lack of beds-- a decision was made to dump him at a crossing to Gaza, though officers had yet to identify him and he was barely conscious.
Haaretz’s timeline of Abu Jariban's last night:
At 10 P.M., Abu Jariban's death march began. A low-ranking policeman, Assaf Yakutieli, together with a volunteer policeman, put the Palestinian in a police car. Without wondering whether what they were doing was legal, they grabbed Abu Jariban under the arms, and stuffed him into the squad car; the volunteer folded his legs into the vehicle.
The police car went to Kfar Sava, only to be informed by officers there that they were unable to identify the man. Yakutieli telephoned Peretz. The duty officer told him to leave the suspect at the Maccabim crossing point.
The commander of this checkpoint refused to take responsibility for Abu Jariban, however, and so the police car continued to Route 443, toward the Atarot border crossing (which has subsequently been removed ). There, too, Border Police refused to take responsibility for the man. After the third such refusal, Yakutieli phoned the duty officer and told him that he would leave Abu Jariban at a well-lit junction, so that he would be picked up by Palestinians.
At 2:50 A.M. Abu Jariban was taken out of the car on Route 45, between the Ofer army base and the Atarot crossing point. He was left by the side of the road. The policemen apparently did not know that Palestinian vehicles were not allowed to travel on this road. Abu Jariban was left to his own devices, wearing his hospital gown and with the discharge papers in his pocket. The catheter was still with him. He was barefoot. The policemen left neither food nor drink with him; they reported that they had completed the mission.
Yakutieli subsequently testified: 'Together with the volunteer, we took the detainee out of the car and placed him behind the safety railing so that he wouldn't be hurt. He wasn't removed very far from the road he was left in a place where he would be able to hitch-hike a lift. We made a report and then drove off.'
The police investigator asked him to clarify his reasoning about the suspect's ability to get a lift on a speedy highway. Yakutieli replied: 'I expected that cars would stop at the side of the road, that someone would take him in and give him a ride. All told, he is one of their people and the Arabs are known for their solidarity.'
On Sunday morning, June 15, a pedestrian discovered Abu Jariban's corpse. A bread roll and a soft drink can were beside the body. Subsequently, police argued that these objects prove that the young man was able to take care of himself. The autopsy established that he died of dehydration.
Jariban’s family is enraged by his death. His brother Mohammed told Haaretz "they simply threw him to the dogs," continuing "had they brought him to the Erez border crossing, we would have taken care of him."
In response to Haaretz’s report and Jariban’s family’s remarks, the police officers said the case was "sorrowful," and again stood by their decision to promote the criminally indicted commanding officer.
19 feb 2012
The chilling tale of a Palestinian car thief released from hospital prematurely and placed in police detention.
An unspeakable act took place in Israel. Late one night, an officer of the Israel Police tossed one Omar Abu Jariban - injured, confused and shoeless - to the side of the road and left him there to die.
This chilling story, which took place in the summer of 2008, was reported by Chaim Levinson in Friday's Hebrew edition of Haaretz. The incident should keep many Israelis awake at night. Serious measures must be taken against all those responsible.
Abu Jariban - who lives in the Gaza Strip city of Rafah, and who was not authorized to enter Israel - was seriously injured in an accident while riding with a friend in a stolen car. He was discharged from Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer - with a urinary catheter still in place, still using adult diapers, and in need of further medical care and rehabilitation - and he was placed in police detention. Hospital and police officials are now trading accusations over who was responsible for his premature and unconscionable discharge from Sheba.
Following failed efforts by the Rehovot and Kfar Sava police stations to identify Abu Jariban, police officials made the decision to get rid of the injured, sick and confused detainee and to take him to the Maccabim border crossing. Three police officers pushed him into a police vehicle. After it reached the checkpoint, whose commander refused to take the injured man, he was thrown from the vehicle in the dark of night onto the shoulder of Route 45, between the Ofer Base and the Atarot border crossing. He was wearing only hospital pajamas and was still attached to the catheter. His body was discovered two days later. "He was simply thrown to the dogs," Abu Jariban's brother, Mohammed, said by telephone from Gaza. The brother, horrifically, related the events in precise detail.
In March 2009, after an investigation by the Justice Ministry's department for the investigation of police officers, it was decided that only two of the officers involved in dumping and abandoning Abu Jariban by the side of the road would be prosecuted, both on charges of criminally negligent homicide. The evidentiary stage of the trial has not yet begun, but one of the defendants has since been promoted within the police. A third officer, who was given a disciplinary trial over the incident, has also been promoted since then.
There are individuals who are responsible for this horrific act, and they must pay for their deeds. It is not sufficient to settle for the very partial recommendations of the police investigations department. The attorney general must order an additional and more comprehensive investigation of the conduct of Sheba and of the police in this incident.
An unspeakable act took place in Israel. Late one night, an officer of the Israel Police tossed one Omar Abu Jariban - injured, confused and shoeless - to the side of the road and left him there to die.
This chilling story, which took place in the summer of 2008, was reported by Chaim Levinson in Friday's Hebrew edition of Haaretz. The incident should keep many Israelis awake at night. Serious measures must be taken against all those responsible.
Abu Jariban - who lives in the Gaza Strip city of Rafah, and who was not authorized to enter Israel - was seriously injured in an accident while riding with a friend in a stolen car. He was discharged from Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer - with a urinary catheter still in place, still using adult diapers, and in need of further medical care and rehabilitation - and he was placed in police detention. Hospital and police officials are now trading accusations over who was responsible for his premature and unconscionable discharge from Sheba.
Following failed efforts by the Rehovot and Kfar Sava police stations to identify Abu Jariban, police officials made the decision to get rid of the injured, sick and confused detainee and to take him to the Maccabim border crossing. Three police officers pushed him into a police vehicle. After it reached the checkpoint, whose commander refused to take the injured man, he was thrown from the vehicle in the dark of night onto the shoulder of Route 45, between the Ofer Base and the Atarot border crossing. He was wearing only hospital pajamas and was still attached to the catheter. His body was discovered two days later. "He was simply thrown to the dogs," Abu Jariban's brother, Mohammed, said by telephone from Gaza. The brother, horrifically, related the events in precise detail.
In March 2009, after an investigation by the Justice Ministry's department for the investigation of police officers, it was decided that only two of the officers involved in dumping and abandoning Abu Jariban by the side of the road would be prosecuted, both on charges of criminally negligent homicide. The evidentiary stage of the trial has not yet begun, but one of the defendants has since been promoted within the police. A third officer, who was given a disciplinary trial over the incident, has also been promoted since then.
There are individuals who are responsible for this horrific act, and they must pay for their deeds. It is not sufficient to settle for the very partial recommendations of the police investigations department. The attorney general must order an additional and more comprehensive investigation of the conduct of Sheba and of the police in this incident.
12 jan 2012
Firas Qasqas, 32
Four years after an Israeli soldier used his sniper rifle to kill a Palestinian civilian from Bethlehem district visiting family in the Ramallah district; an Israeli court acquitted the soldier and claimed that there is not enough evidence to convict the soldier, adding that no charges were filed against the shooter, the Arabs48 News Agency reported.
Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, B’Tselem, issued a report stating that it filed an appeal to the Israeli High Court, on August 08, 2011, and was informed that the officer who shot and killed Firas Qasqas, 32, will be sent to court. But the prosecution never revealed what charges will be filed against the soldier.
Qasqas was killed on December, 02, 2007, when an Israeli soldier used his sniper rifle to kill him despite the fact that he was hundreds of meters away, was not armed and did not pose any threat.
The incident took place in At-Teera village, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah; Qasqas, from Batteer village near Bethlehem, and his family, were visiting relatives in At-Teera.
In February last year, B’Tselem filed an appeal demanding the Military Prosecutor’s Office to act against the soldier.
According to B’Tselem’s investigation, at noon hours on December 2nd, Qasqas and two of his relatives were walking in an open area near the houses of At-Teera village, and then a number of Israeli soldiers, 500 meters away, opened fire at them without any prior warning.
The three were unarmed, and did not act in any way that might look suspicious. Qasqas was shot in the back, and the bullet exited from his chest. His two relatives rushed him to a local hospital in Ramallah but he died of his wounds.
After the fatal shooting, B’Tselem repeatedly contacted the Israeli Military Prosecution, asking it to open an investigation into the shooting, and two months later, the Military Prosecutor ordered an investigation and B’Tselem helped in collecting the testimonies of the two witnesses, and provided the investigators all related documentation.
On August 18, 2011, the Prosecution announced that the Central Command of the Israeli Military had concluded all investigations, and decided that the issue of filing charges against the officer should be considered, and that a hearing will be conducted in order to listen to the testimony of the commander who ordered the soldier to open fire.
The Defense attorney of the officer (Morr) claimed that “there is no way to prove that the cause of death was that bullet”, and that “there is no proof that anybody was killed in the incident in question”.
He also claimed that the medical reports are incomplete, and do not include the autopsy report that indicated the exact cause of death.
The court then decided to close the file of Qasqas without any indictment against any soldier, and claimed that “despite the fact the soldiers opened fire in violation to the open-fire regulations in the area, yet, the soldiers act in a practical manner as they opened fire when they felt that they were in danger”.
It also said that “despite the fact that the decision to open fire was wrong, the act is not a crime and does not even constitute negligence”.
Israeli court acquits Israeli soldier of murdering Palestinian
The human rights group B'Tselem said an Israeli court acquitted an Israeli officer of killing in cold blood a Palestinian citizen called Firas Qasqas four years ago.
This court decision came four years after a senior Israeli officer killed Qasqas who was hundreds of meters away and unarmed, and constituted no threat to anyone.
This court exoneration was issued after B'Tselem filed a petition with the higher court last February demanding the military prosecutor to take action against the officer.
Four years after an Israeli soldier used his sniper rifle to kill a Palestinian civilian from Bethlehem district visiting family in the Ramallah district; an Israeli court acquitted the soldier and claimed that there is not enough evidence to convict the soldier, adding that no charges were filed against the shooter, the Arabs48 News Agency reported.
Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, B’Tselem, issued a report stating that it filed an appeal to the Israeli High Court, on August 08, 2011, and was informed that the officer who shot and killed Firas Qasqas, 32, will be sent to court. But the prosecution never revealed what charges will be filed against the soldier.
Qasqas was killed on December, 02, 2007, when an Israeli soldier used his sniper rifle to kill him despite the fact that he was hundreds of meters away, was not armed and did not pose any threat.
The incident took place in At-Teera village, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah; Qasqas, from Batteer village near Bethlehem, and his family, were visiting relatives in At-Teera.
In February last year, B’Tselem filed an appeal demanding the Military Prosecutor’s Office to act against the soldier.
According to B’Tselem’s investigation, at noon hours on December 2nd, Qasqas and two of his relatives were walking in an open area near the houses of At-Teera village, and then a number of Israeli soldiers, 500 meters away, opened fire at them without any prior warning.
The three were unarmed, and did not act in any way that might look suspicious. Qasqas was shot in the back, and the bullet exited from his chest. His two relatives rushed him to a local hospital in Ramallah but he died of his wounds.
After the fatal shooting, B’Tselem repeatedly contacted the Israeli Military Prosecution, asking it to open an investigation into the shooting, and two months later, the Military Prosecutor ordered an investigation and B’Tselem helped in collecting the testimonies of the two witnesses, and provided the investigators all related documentation.
On August 18, 2011, the Prosecution announced that the Central Command of the Israeli Military had concluded all investigations, and decided that the issue of filing charges against the officer should be considered, and that a hearing will be conducted in order to listen to the testimony of the commander who ordered the soldier to open fire.
The Defense attorney of the officer (Morr) claimed that “there is no way to prove that the cause of death was that bullet”, and that “there is no proof that anybody was killed in the incident in question”.
He also claimed that the medical reports are incomplete, and do not include the autopsy report that indicated the exact cause of death.
The court then decided to close the file of Qasqas without any indictment against any soldier, and claimed that “despite the fact the soldiers opened fire in violation to the open-fire regulations in the area, yet, the soldiers act in a practical manner as they opened fire when they felt that they were in danger”.
It also said that “despite the fact that the decision to open fire was wrong, the act is not a crime and does not even constitute negligence”.
Israeli court acquits Israeli soldier of murdering Palestinian
The human rights group B'Tselem said an Israeli court acquitted an Israeli officer of killing in cold blood a Palestinian citizen called Firas Qasqas four years ago.
This court decision came four years after a senior Israeli officer killed Qasqas who was hundreds of meters away and unarmed, and constituted no threat to anyone.
This court exoneration was issued after B'Tselem filed a petition with the higher court last February demanding the military prosecutor to take action against the officer.
The Israeli judicial system is partial and biased against Palestinian. It often imposes procedural barriers, and other times, impose more financial burdens, Thursday said a press release published on the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) website.
It said the policies of the Israeli government further imposes physical barriers on effective access of Palestinian victims to the Israeli courts, thus depriving Palestinian victims in general, and victims of the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip (27 December 2008 – 18 January 2009), codenamed “Operation Cast Lead,” in particular of remedy and redress according to international human rights instruments.
In spite of all such barriers, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights PCHR will continue its serious efforts to ensure remedy for victims, as it is the legal representative in 100 cases on behalf of 626 Palestinian victims affected by Operation Cast Lead.
Strongly believing in the universality of human rights, PCHR will continue it work to face injustice, assist the victims and confront the barriers imposed by the Israeli occupation authorities.
In the context of their effort to deny the victims their right to justice and remedy, Israeli courts of various degrees considering cases filed on behalf of victims of Operation Cast Lead issued a series of decisions limiting access of Palestinian victims to justice.
The most significant decision in this regard was the one compelling each claimant in a civil case to pay a court insurance fee or bank guaranty of 20,000 NIS before the court will allow the case to proceed. If the money is not paid within 60-120 days, the claim will be dismissed.
The insurance fee means that the claimant or his/her representative must pay it to the court’s fund directly, while the bank guaranty is a financial guaranty signed by the claimant or his/her representative to a bank, and the bank deposits such signed guaranty in the court’s fund.
This decision has been issued in regard to 14 of the cases followed up by PCHR before Israeli courts. PCHR filed a number of petitions at the Israeli High Court in Jerusalem, demanding canceling these decisions or decreasing the amount of the guaranty. PCHR established its claim on a number of points, including, inter alia:
1. Determining the Ministry of Defense’s responsibilities for the incidents and the resulting damage.
2. Depositing a guaranty aims at blocking the way for claimants to file compensation claims for the damage incurred to them, as they have the right to know the reasons of killing their family members and it is not a form of fraud on the state.
3. Article 8 of the Basic Law relating to respect for the individuals and their freedom, which is applicable in the Israeli courts, establishes that the rule is that a guaranty must not be obligatory, and the exception is compelling payment of such guaranty.
4. The request to deposit guaranties followed the deposition of the prosecution’s response and before the prosecution explained its narrative of the incidents individually.
5. The amounts of guaranties are too high, especially as the economic conditions of the Gaza Strip’s population is extremely deteriorated.
6. The expenses for the prosecution, when opening an investigation in each case, are less than the amounts required to be deposited.
In its response to PCHR’s petition, the Israeli prosecution claimed that the filed cases relate to incidents that occurred in the context of a clear military operation (Operation Cast Lead), which the Israeli military was forced to launch according to decisions taken by the government of Israel (a military operation, according to the Israeli Civil Torts - Liability of the State – Law of 1952, provides complete impunity against damage claims).
The prosecution further claimed that the claims that are instituted are relating to compensation with dozens of millions of NIS, and due to the high number of claimants and incidents, it is expected that the prosecution is likely to endure high expenses to make a single checking for each incident, its circumstance and the alleged injury.
Additionally, it claimed that the claimants are non-citizens or non-residents of the State of Israel, and they cannot prove that they have property in territory of the State of Israel (the claimants are out of the jurisdiction).
For this reason, according to the prosecution’s claim, it is difficult to endure the expenses if the claim is rejected, and the guaranty compels the claimant to be serious in his/her claim.
In turn, the Israeli High Court rejected PCHR’s petitions and upheld the prosecution’s claims, which confirms the Israeli judiciary’s collusion, its surrender to the government’s dictations and its provision of a legal cover for the government’s illegal actions.
PCHR reiterates that the decisions taken by the Israeli courts with regard to guaranties constitute a large monetary barrier, which deprives the victims of their fundamental right to have an effective judicial remedy, including compensation, in violation of fundamental human rights ensured under the international law.
The right to get compensation is very essential for victims to rebuild their lives partially, although such compensation is worthless in comparison to their loss.
Accordingly, PCHR believes that under the current situation, and in light of such decisions by the Israeli courts and the Israeli judiciary’s bias against Palestinian victims, compensation is one of the remaining little hopes to achieve some form of justice.
It should be noted that the decisions relating to guaranties are part of a series of decisions and measures that have been taken by Israeli occupation authorities over years in order to prevent Palestinians from claiming for compensation before Israeli courts for violations they are subjected to.
On July 27, 2005, the Israeli Knesset approved an amendment to the Civil Torts Law (Liability of the State) of 1952, preventing Palestinians from claiming for compensation for the State of Israel.
In response, 9 human rights organizations, including PCHR, filed a petition at the Israeli High Court challenging the law, and were able to obtain a decision allowing Palestinians to institute individual compensation claims before Israeli courts, and the judge would have the power of appreciation to adjust or reject it, and estimate the amount of the guaranty.
The Civil Torts (Liability of the State) Law had previously been amended to decrease the statute of limitations with respect to a compensation claim from 7 to 2 years, and requiring that a written notice be sent to the Israeli Defense Ministry within 60 days of the incident otherwise the right to judicial remedy will be terminated.
Other monetary barriers include also that Israeli courts often require claimants to pay insurance fees before initiating the judicial procedures. Such fees are left for estimations of courts. Concerning claims related to damages incurred to property, the fees are proportions of the values of property.
In claims related to killings and injuries, there is no specific range for fees. Due to such monetary burdens, PCHR was forced to return several files to the victims.
In addition, there are also physical barriers facing the victims. Since 2007, in spite of decisions by courts summoning victims or eyewitnesses, IOF have prevented them from traveling outside the Gaza Strip. As a result, the Israeli courts dismissed many claims under the pretext of the non-presence of eyewitnesses, and even imposed fines on them.
These barriers are part of a series of systematic restrictions imposed by Israel to limit the ability of Palestinian to claim for compensation before Israeli courts for damage caused to them by Israeli occupation forces. Such restrictions make achieving justice and judicial remedy for Palestinians impossible, so the resort must be to international justice mechanism.
It said the policies of the Israeli government further imposes physical barriers on effective access of Palestinian victims to the Israeli courts, thus depriving Palestinian victims in general, and victims of the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip (27 December 2008 – 18 January 2009), codenamed “Operation Cast Lead,” in particular of remedy and redress according to international human rights instruments.
In spite of all such barriers, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights PCHR will continue its serious efforts to ensure remedy for victims, as it is the legal representative in 100 cases on behalf of 626 Palestinian victims affected by Operation Cast Lead.
Strongly believing in the universality of human rights, PCHR will continue it work to face injustice, assist the victims and confront the barriers imposed by the Israeli occupation authorities.
In the context of their effort to deny the victims their right to justice and remedy, Israeli courts of various degrees considering cases filed on behalf of victims of Operation Cast Lead issued a series of decisions limiting access of Palestinian victims to justice.
The most significant decision in this regard was the one compelling each claimant in a civil case to pay a court insurance fee or bank guaranty of 20,000 NIS before the court will allow the case to proceed. If the money is not paid within 60-120 days, the claim will be dismissed.
The insurance fee means that the claimant or his/her representative must pay it to the court’s fund directly, while the bank guaranty is a financial guaranty signed by the claimant or his/her representative to a bank, and the bank deposits such signed guaranty in the court’s fund.
This decision has been issued in regard to 14 of the cases followed up by PCHR before Israeli courts. PCHR filed a number of petitions at the Israeli High Court in Jerusalem, demanding canceling these decisions or decreasing the amount of the guaranty. PCHR established its claim on a number of points, including, inter alia:
1. Determining the Ministry of Defense’s responsibilities for the incidents and the resulting damage.
2. Depositing a guaranty aims at blocking the way for claimants to file compensation claims for the damage incurred to them, as they have the right to know the reasons of killing their family members and it is not a form of fraud on the state.
3. Article 8 of the Basic Law relating to respect for the individuals and their freedom, which is applicable in the Israeli courts, establishes that the rule is that a guaranty must not be obligatory, and the exception is compelling payment of such guaranty.
4. The request to deposit guaranties followed the deposition of the prosecution’s response and before the prosecution explained its narrative of the incidents individually.
5. The amounts of guaranties are too high, especially as the economic conditions of the Gaza Strip’s population is extremely deteriorated.
6. The expenses for the prosecution, when opening an investigation in each case, are less than the amounts required to be deposited.
In its response to PCHR’s petition, the Israeli prosecution claimed that the filed cases relate to incidents that occurred in the context of a clear military operation (Operation Cast Lead), which the Israeli military was forced to launch according to decisions taken by the government of Israel (a military operation, according to the Israeli Civil Torts - Liability of the State – Law of 1952, provides complete impunity against damage claims).
The prosecution further claimed that the claims that are instituted are relating to compensation with dozens of millions of NIS, and due to the high number of claimants and incidents, it is expected that the prosecution is likely to endure high expenses to make a single checking for each incident, its circumstance and the alleged injury.
Additionally, it claimed that the claimants are non-citizens or non-residents of the State of Israel, and they cannot prove that they have property in territory of the State of Israel (the claimants are out of the jurisdiction).
For this reason, according to the prosecution’s claim, it is difficult to endure the expenses if the claim is rejected, and the guaranty compels the claimant to be serious in his/her claim.
In turn, the Israeli High Court rejected PCHR’s petitions and upheld the prosecution’s claims, which confirms the Israeli judiciary’s collusion, its surrender to the government’s dictations and its provision of a legal cover for the government’s illegal actions.
PCHR reiterates that the decisions taken by the Israeli courts with regard to guaranties constitute a large monetary barrier, which deprives the victims of their fundamental right to have an effective judicial remedy, including compensation, in violation of fundamental human rights ensured under the international law.
The right to get compensation is very essential for victims to rebuild their lives partially, although such compensation is worthless in comparison to their loss.
Accordingly, PCHR believes that under the current situation, and in light of such decisions by the Israeli courts and the Israeli judiciary’s bias against Palestinian victims, compensation is one of the remaining little hopes to achieve some form of justice.
It should be noted that the decisions relating to guaranties are part of a series of decisions and measures that have been taken by Israeli occupation authorities over years in order to prevent Palestinians from claiming for compensation before Israeli courts for violations they are subjected to.
On July 27, 2005, the Israeli Knesset approved an amendment to the Civil Torts Law (Liability of the State) of 1952, preventing Palestinians from claiming for compensation for the State of Israel.
In response, 9 human rights organizations, including PCHR, filed a petition at the Israeli High Court challenging the law, and were able to obtain a decision allowing Palestinians to institute individual compensation claims before Israeli courts, and the judge would have the power of appreciation to adjust or reject it, and estimate the amount of the guaranty.
The Civil Torts (Liability of the State) Law had previously been amended to decrease the statute of limitations with respect to a compensation claim from 7 to 2 years, and requiring that a written notice be sent to the Israeli Defense Ministry within 60 days of the incident otherwise the right to judicial remedy will be terminated.
Other monetary barriers include also that Israeli courts often require claimants to pay insurance fees before initiating the judicial procedures. Such fees are left for estimations of courts. Concerning claims related to damages incurred to property, the fees are proportions of the values of property.
In claims related to killings and injuries, there is no specific range for fees. Due to such monetary burdens, PCHR was forced to return several files to the victims.
In addition, there are also physical barriers facing the victims. Since 2007, in spite of decisions by courts summoning victims or eyewitnesses, IOF have prevented them from traveling outside the Gaza Strip. As a result, the Israeli courts dismissed many claims under the pretext of the non-presence of eyewitnesses, and even imposed fines on them.
These barriers are part of a series of systematic restrictions imposed by Israel to limit the ability of Palestinian to claim for compensation before Israeli courts for damage caused to them by Israeli occupation forces. Such restrictions make achieving justice and judicial remedy for Palestinians impossible, so the resort must be to international justice mechanism.
Rayah Salama Abu Hajjaj, 64, and Majeda ‘Abdul Karim Abu Hajjaj, 37
PCHR will continue to use all available means to ensure victims’ fundamental human rights, including the right to reparation. Recently, a compensation of 500,000NIS was secured on behalf of the family of Rayah Salama Abu Hajjaj, 64, and Majeda ‘Abdul Karim Abu Hajjaj, 37.
These two women were killed by Israeli forces near Juhor al-Dik village during Operation Cast Lead. The compensation was awarded in an out of court settlement.
PCHR will continue to use all available means to ensure victims’ fundamental human rights, including the right to reparation. Recently, a compensation of 500,000NIS was secured on behalf of the family of Rayah Salama Abu Hajjaj, 64, and Majeda ‘Abdul Karim Abu Hajjaj, 37.
These two women were killed by Israeli forces near Juhor al-Dik village during Operation Cast Lead. The compensation was awarded in an out of court settlement.
5 jan 2012
The trial of Bassem Tamimi, a resident of Nabi Saleh village, near Ramallah, and a known civil protester will resume Sunday, according to local activists.
In the trial, Ofer military court near Ramallah will hear the testimony of an Israeli police inspector who took part in the interrogation of a Palestinian minor in order to incriminate Tamimi, arrested in March, said the sources.
Inspector Jalal Aweida was one of the key interrogators of 14 year-old Islam Dar Ayyoub who claimed that Tamimi organized groups of youth into 'brigades' assigned with different responsibilities during the demonstrations including stone-throwing and blocking roads.
Activists said Dar Ayyoub was interrogated under duress the morning of his arrest after he was denied sleep and that he was denied legal counsel or presence of a parent during the questioning.
They said Aweida used threatening and sexual gestures to intimidate the minor, who burst into tears halfway through the interrogation and had almost collapsed.
The Israeli authorities are trying to use the testimony of Dar Ayyoub in order to incriminate Tamimi, a father of four and an activist in the civil protest movements in the West Bank against Israeli takeover of Palestinian land to build settlements and a wall on village lands.
Nabi Saleh started the protest movement two years ago when Israeli settlements in the area attempted to expand their borders to incorporate more of the village land and to take over water springs vital for the survival of the village residents.
Tamimi was arrested 11 times by the Israeli army since the early 1990s, but was never convicted of any charge. Rather, he was held in administrative detention for around three years.
In the trial, Ofer military court near Ramallah will hear the testimony of an Israeli police inspector who took part in the interrogation of a Palestinian minor in order to incriminate Tamimi, arrested in March, said the sources.
Inspector Jalal Aweida was one of the key interrogators of 14 year-old Islam Dar Ayyoub who claimed that Tamimi organized groups of youth into 'brigades' assigned with different responsibilities during the demonstrations including stone-throwing and blocking roads.
Activists said Dar Ayyoub was interrogated under duress the morning of his arrest after he was denied sleep and that he was denied legal counsel or presence of a parent during the questioning.
They said Aweida used threatening and sexual gestures to intimidate the minor, who burst into tears halfway through the interrogation and had almost collapsed.
The Israeli authorities are trying to use the testimony of Dar Ayyoub in order to incriminate Tamimi, a father of four and an activist in the civil protest movements in the West Bank against Israeli takeover of Palestinian land to build settlements and a wall on village lands.
Nabi Saleh started the protest movement two years ago when Israeli settlements in the area attempted to expand their borders to incorporate more of the village land and to take over water springs vital for the survival of the village residents.
Tamimi was arrested 11 times by the Israeli army since the early 1990s, but was never convicted of any charge. Rather, he was held in administrative detention for around three years.
