18 feb 2013
Israeli parliament to probe Prisoner X death
The Australian-Israeli ‘Mossad agent’ who became known as ‘Prisoner X’
An Israeli parliamentarian committee has launched an investigation into the death and detention of the Australian-Israeli Mossad agent called Prisoner X.
"The intelligence subcommittee of the [Knesset] foreign affairs and defense committee decided to hold an intensive inquiry into all aspects of the affair of the prisoner found dead in his cell," spokesman of the Knesset's intelligence subcommittee Asaf Doron said in a statement.
On February 12, Australian reporter Trevor Bormann revealed on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that Ben Zygier was “found hanged in a cell with state-of-the-art surveillance systems” near Tel Aviv in late 2010.
For two years, a gag order prevented journalists in Israel from telling the story of Prisoner X. The order was partially lifted by an Israeli court two days after the ABC report. Gag orders and military censorship are common in Israel.
Originally born in Melbourne, the 34-year-old Zygier had worked for the Israeli spy agency, Mossad, the ABC report said.
Following the revelation, the Tel Aviv regime was forced to admit that Zygier had been jailed under a false identity “for security reasons.”
The Australian reporter added that he had been informed that the editors-in-chief and owners of the Israeli regime’s main media outlets were summoned upon an order by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an hour after the ABC report was aired, and were asked by the head of Mossad, Tamir Pardo, not to report the ABC program.
Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr has said that Australia has called on the Israeli government to provide them with an “explanation of how this tragic death came about."
Netanyahu, however, has urged discretion with regards to the case as "overexposure of security and intelligence activities can damage, and damage badly” the Israeli security.
More.....
An Israeli parliamentarian committee has launched an investigation into the death and detention of the Australian-Israeli Mossad agent called Prisoner X.
"The intelligence subcommittee of the [Knesset] foreign affairs and defense committee decided to hold an intensive inquiry into all aspects of the affair of the prisoner found dead in his cell," spokesman of the Knesset's intelligence subcommittee Asaf Doron said in a statement.
On February 12, Australian reporter Trevor Bormann revealed on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that Ben Zygier was “found hanged in a cell with state-of-the-art surveillance systems” near Tel Aviv in late 2010.
For two years, a gag order prevented journalists in Israel from telling the story of Prisoner X. The order was partially lifted by an Israeli court two days after the ABC report. Gag orders and military censorship are common in Israel.
Originally born in Melbourne, the 34-year-old Zygier had worked for the Israeli spy agency, Mossad, the ABC report said.
Following the revelation, the Tel Aviv regime was forced to admit that Zygier had been jailed under a false identity “for security reasons.”
The Australian reporter added that he had been informed that the editors-in-chief and owners of the Israeli regime’s main media outlets were summoned upon an order by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an hour after the ABC report was aired, and were asked by the head of Mossad, Tamir Pardo, not to report the ABC program.
Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr has said that Australia has called on the Israeli government to provide them with an “explanation of how this tragic death came about."
Netanyahu, however, has urged discretion with regards to the case as "overexposure of security and intelligence activities can damage, and damage badly” the Israeli security.
More.....
AG: Probe 'inappropriate conduct' claims against Minister Sa'ar
Minister Sa'ar
Letter of complaint to PM Netanyahu alleges education minister made inappropriate sexual advances toward female employee in his office; police to check its credibility
A letter claiming Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar behaved inappropriately towards a female employee in his office is not expected to affect his chances of being appointed to a ministerial position in the next government.
The letter, alleging Sa'ar made inappropriate sexual advances toward a female employee, was recently obtained by a number of Likud Central Committee members. However, following an initial examination, the Justice Ministry found no grounds to prevent Sa'ar's reappointment.
The letter, which was addressed to Benjamin Netanyahu, urged the prime minister to refrain from reappointing Sa'ar. It was signed in the initials of the female employee who supposedly sent it as a complaint against her superior, but she denied ever having written it.
The Movement for Quality Government in Israel turned to Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein and Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino and demanded that a criminal investigation be launched. Last week AG Weinstein instructed police to conduct a preliminary investigation into the letter to determine its credibility.
Letter of complaint to PM Netanyahu alleges education minister made inappropriate sexual advances toward female employee in his office; police to check its credibility
A letter claiming Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar behaved inappropriately towards a female employee in his office is not expected to affect his chances of being appointed to a ministerial position in the next government.
The letter, alleging Sa'ar made inappropriate sexual advances toward a female employee, was recently obtained by a number of Likud Central Committee members. However, following an initial examination, the Justice Ministry found no grounds to prevent Sa'ar's reappointment.
The letter, which was addressed to Benjamin Netanyahu, urged the prime minister to refrain from reappointing Sa'ar. It was signed in the initials of the female employee who supposedly sent it as a complaint against her superior, but she denied ever having written it.
The Movement for Quality Government in Israel turned to Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein and Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino and demanded that a criminal investigation be launched. Last week AG Weinstein instructed police to conduct a preliminary investigation into the letter to determine its credibility.
17 feb 2013
AG's wife charged with illegally employing migrant
Yehuda Weinstein
Aviva Weinstein indicted for employing Indian foreign worker without permit in 2009
The Population, Immigration and Borders Authority filed an indictment Sunday against Aviva Weinstein, the wife of Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein, for illegally employing a migrant worker. The indictment was filed with the Tel Aviv Labor Court following an extensive investigation and after the State Prosecutor's Office gave the Interior Ministry the green light to go ahead with the procedure.
According to the indictment, between January and August 2009, Weinstein employed Soze Felix in various house chores. The indictment said that Felix was illegally employed as he was a migrant worker not permitted to work in Israel in housework. The affair was exposed in December 2010 when it was discovered that the Weinsteins had been employing the India-born man.
Weinstein had not yet assumed the position of attorney general at the time. While Felix had been staying in Israel legally, he was not permitted to work in housework. Migrant workers are usually given permits in the fields of construction, agriculture and nursing.
The worker returned to India with time still left on his visa after the affair was exposed. If convicted, Aviva Weinstein could be ordered to pay a fine which could amount to tens of thousands of shekels, though the offence warrants jail time by law. The Immigration Authority has recently stepped up its enforcement against employers of illegal migrant workers.
Related stories:
Aviva Weinstein indicted for employing Indian foreign worker without permit in 2009
The Population, Immigration and Borders Authority filed an indictment Sunday against Aviva Weinstein, the wife of Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein, for illegally employing a migrant worker. The indictment was filed with the Tel Aviv Labor Court following an extensive investigation and after the State Prosecutor's Office gave the Interior Ministry the green light to go ahead with the procedure.
According to the indictment, between January and August 2009, Weinstein employed Soze Felix in various house chores. The indictment said that Felix was illegally employed as he was a migrant worker not permitted to work in Israel in housework. The affair was exposed in December 2010 when it was discovered that the Weinsteins had been employing the India-born man.
Weinstein had not yet assumed the position of attorney general at the time. While Felix had been staying in Israel legally, he was not permitted to work in housework. Migrant workers are usually given permits in the fields of construction, agriculture and nursing.
The worker returned to India with time still left on his visa after the affair was exposed. If convicted, Aviva Weinstein could be ordered to pay a fine which could amount to tens of thousands of shekels, though the offence warrants jail time by law. The Immigration Authority has recently stepped up its enforcement against employers of illegal migrant workers.
Related stories:
16 feb 2013
More Prisoner Xs held in Israeli jails: Report
The headstone of Ben Zygier is photographed in the Chevra Kadisha Jewish Cemetery in Melbourne on February 14, 2013
A report says the Australian-Israeli ‘Mossad agent’ who allegedly committed suicide in an Israeli prison in 2010 was not the only one to be held under a false name.
Citing sources familiar with the affair of Ben Zygier, known as Prisoner X to conceal his identity, Israeli website Ynetnew reported that “in many cases, the Israeli detainees are in greater danger of being locked up under an assumed name and ‘disappearing’.”
“Detainees vanish into interrogation rooms; no one knows where they are,” one of the sources said.
"When an Israeli is detained for security offenses, a process begins, but no one knows how it will end," another source said.
On February 12, reporter Trevor Bormann revealed on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that the 34-year-old who had worked for Mossad for ten years was “found hanged in a cell with state-of-the-art surveillance systems” near Tel Aviv in December 2010.
"He disappears into interrogation rooms, and no one knows where he is. They do it using two tools: A gag order and an injunction that prevents the detainee from meeting with an attorney,” the source added.
"In this manner, the detainee is interrogated without being aware of his rights and without meeting anyone. The entire system is recruited to make him disappear.”
"For instance, Izzat Nafso, the IDF intelligence officer who served in the Lebanese Liaison Unit and was suspected of espionage and aiding the enemy, was detained without the knowledge of his family. He was interrogated for 14 days, and was tortured during the questioning," the source added.
Following the revelation, the Tel Aviv regime was forced to admit that Zygier had been jailed under a false identity “for security reasons” despite nearly two years of great efforts to cover up the secret.
A report by the New York Times quoting the Kuwaiti daily Al Jarida on Thursday, said Zygier was among the 26 suspects in a murder plot in which Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a Hamas official, was tracked and killed in his hotel room hours after his arrival in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, in January 2010.
The assassins had reportedly used fake passports from Australia, Britain, Ireland, Germany and France, among other countries.
The report added that Prisoner X had provided the officials in Dubai with “names and pictures and accurate details” in exchange for protection.
However, the Israeli regime kidnapped him from his hideout and jailed him over treason nearly a month after the operation over the speculation that he had been on the verge of exposing Tel Aviv’s secrets about the passports.
A report says the Australian-Israeli ‘Mossad agent’ who allegedly committed suicide in an Israeli prison in 2010 was not the only one to be held under a false name.
Citing sources familiar with the affair of Ben Zygier, known as Prisoner X to conceal his identity, Israeli website Ynetnew reported that “in many cases, the Israeli detainees are in greater danger of being locked up under an assumed name and ‘disappearing’.”
“Detainees vanish into interrogation rooms; no one knows where they are,” one of the sources said.
"When an Israeli is detained for security offenses, a process begins, but no one knows how it will end," another source said.
On February 12, reporter Trevor Bormann revealed on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that the 34-year-old who had worked for Mossad for ten years was “found hanged in a cell with state-of-the-art surveillance systems” near Tel Aviv in December 2010.
"He disappears into interrogation rooms, and no one knows where he is. They do it using two tools: A gag order and an injunction that prevents the detainee from meeting with an attorney,” the source added.
"In this manner, the detainee is interrogated without being aware of his rights and without meeting anyone. The entire system is recruited to make him disappear.”
"For instance, Izzat Nafso, the IDF intelligence officer who served in the Lebanese Liaison Unit and was suspected of espionage and aiding the enemy, was detained without the knowledge of his family. He was interrogated for 14 days, and was tortured during the questioning," the source added.
Following the revelation, the Tel Aviv regime was forced to admit that Zygier had been jailed under a false identity “for security reasons” despite nearly two years of great efforts to cover up the secret.
A report by the New York Times quoting the Kuwaiti daily Al Jarida on Thursday, said Zygier was among the 26 suspects in a murder plot in which Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a Hamas official, was tracked and killed in his hotel room hours after his arrival in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, in January 2010.
The assassins had reportedly used fake passports from Australia, Britain, Ireland, Germany and France, among other countries.
The report added that Prisoner X had provided the officials in Dubai with “names and pictures and accurate details” in exchange for protection.
However, the Israeli regime kidnapped him from his hideout and jailed him over treason nearly a month after the operation over the speculation that he had been on the verge of exposing Tel Aviv’s secrets about the passports.
14 feb 2013
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Court Convicts 4 Israeli Officers of Abusing Palestinian in 2009
The Jerusalem District Court has convicted four Israeli former Border Guard officers of abusing a Palestinian in 2009.
The four held the Palestinian Fadi Darabe' in a jeep and demanded his identification number while threatening him with a dog, Yediot Ahranot Israeli newspaper reported. The officers also poured water over him. One of the officers was also convicted of assault, while the three other officers were convicted of threatening the Palestinian. Video: Israeli Soldiers Abuse Mentally Handicapped Palestinian Man |
Israeli government gives convicted murderer 1.3 million for illegal takeover of Palestinian land
Menachem Livni
An Israeli settler who was released early from a life sentence for killing 3 Palestinians in 1983 has received compensation of 1.3 million NIS (around $250,000) from the Israeli Tax Authority for alleged damage to land that he has cultivated in the Hebron area – land that he illegally confiscated from its Palestinian owners.
Menachem Livni is a settler in the ultra-right wing settlement of Kiryat Arba, in the Palestinian city of Hebron, and says that he is entitled to the payments, and will continue to sue the Israeli government for more money.
Livni was convicted of the murder of three Palestinian students, and the wounding of 33 others, when he and two other right-wing settlers with the so-called ‘Israeli Underground’ threw hand grenades and fired automatic weapons at the Islamic College of Hebron in 1983.
He was sentenced to life in prison along with the other perpetrators of the attack, Shaul Nir and Uzi Sharbav, but he received an early release when he was pardoned by Israeli President Chaim Herzog in 1990.
He immediately moved to the Israeli settlement Kiryat Arba, which soon became known for violent attacks against Palestinians and illegal seizure of Palestinian land.
Livni himself took over a large swath of Palestinian farmland and began growing fruit. He was provided with his own contingent of Israeli military troops to protect his stolen swath of land from the Palestinian owners, who repeatedly attempted to reclaim it.
According to Livni, he had a lease on the land from the Israeli Settlement Authority. He told the Israeli paper Ha’aretz, “I am on the land with a permit and I have invested a lot of money in it. I want to renew the contract and there is an argument with the administration about whether the contract will be with the Settlement Department [of the Jewish Agency] or with me personally.”
But according to the Israeli government, any permit that may have existed expired in 2004. But the payments to Livni from the Israeli Tax Agency continued until at least 2009.
And the convicted murderer is continuing to demand more compensation from the Israeli government for alleged damage to the land he took over from its Palestinian owners.
An Israeli settler who was released early from a life sentence for killing 3 Palestinians in 1983 has received compensation of 1.3 million NIS (around $250,000) from the Israeli Tax Authority for alleged damage to land that he has cultivated in the Hebron area – land that he illegally confiscated from its Palestinian owners.
Menachem Livni is a settler in the ultra-right wing settlement of Kiryat Arba, in the Palestinian city of Hebron, and says that he is entitled to the payments, and will continue to sue the Israeli government for more money.
Livni was convicted of the murder of three Palestinian students, and the wounding of 33 others, when he and two other right-wing settlers with the so-called ‘Israeli Underground’ threw hand grenades and fired automatic weapons at the Islamic College of Hebron in 1983.
He was sentenced to life in prison along with the other perpetrators of the attack, Shaul Nir and Uzi Sharbav, but he received an early release when he was pardoned by Israeli President Chaim Herzog in 1990.
He immediately moved to the Israeli settlement Kiryat Arba, which soon became known for violent attacks against Palestinians and illegal seizure of Palestinian land.
Livni himself took over a large swath of Palestinian farmland and began growing fruit. He was provided with his own contingent of Israeli military troops to protect his stolen swath of land from the Palestinian owners, who repeatedly attempted to reclaim it.
According to Livni, he had a lease on the land from the Israeli Settlement Authority. He told the Israeli paper Ha’aretz, “I am on the land with a permit and I have invested a lot of money in it. I want to renew the contract and there is an argument with the administration about whether the contract will be with the Settlement Department [of the Jewish Agency] or with me personally.”
But according to the Israeli government, any permit that may have existed expired in 2004. But the payments to Livni from the Israeli Tax Agency continued until at least 2009.
And the convicted murderer is continuing to demand more compensation from the Israeli government for alleged damage to the land he took over from its Palestinian owners.
Israel confirms it held ‘Mossad agent’ known as Prisoner X
Ben Zygier wearing Israeli military uniform
The Israeli regime confesses that it had secretly imprisoned a reportedly Australian ‘Mossad agent’ who was later found hanged in solitary confinement nearly two years ago.
The Tel Aviv regime was forced to admit on Wednesday that the man, known as ‘Prisoner X,’ had been jailed under a false identity “for security reasons” after Australian media disclosed the secret despite Israel’s great efforts to cover it up.
On February 12, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported that Ben Zygier was “found hanged in a cell with state-of-the-art surveillance systems” near Tel Aviv in late 2010.
Originally born in Melbourne, the 34-year-old man with a dual Australian-Israeli citizenship had worked for the Israeli spy agency, Mossad, the ABC reported.
The Israeli justice ministry said, “Following an extensive investigation it was ruled six weeks ago that it was suicide. The prisoner was held in jail under a warrant issued by a court.”
Other details of the case, however, remained under a gag order.
According to the ABC, the detainee “received no visitors and lived hermetically sealed from the outside world” while he was jailed.
Other reports also indicated that even his prison guards did not know his identity.
While the Israeli regime has not exposed the charges against the Prisoner X, the newspaper Australian suggested that he had been detained for treason.
“Why was he interned? The suspicion is because of treason against Israel,” the newspaper cited Israeli Army Radio.
Greg Sheridan, the newspaper’s foreign editor, also said, “If a former Mossad agent has ended up in an Israeli prison, this can only indicate that something has gone terribly wrong.”
Earlier in the day, Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr also confessed that the government knew an Australian had been detained by the Israeli regime in 2010 for security offences.
However, Carr’s recent revelation comes after an earlier statement that he only became aware of the man’s incarceration after his death.
The Israeli regime confesses that it had secretly imprisoned a reportedly Australian ‘Mossad agent’ who was later found hanged in solitary confinement nearly two years ago.
The Tel Aviv regime was forced to admit on Wednesday that the man, known as ‘Prisoner X,’ had been jailed under a false identity “for security reasons” after Australian media disclosed the secret despite Israel’s great efforts to cover it up.
On February 12, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported that Ben Zygier was “found hanged in a cell with state-of-the-art surveillance systems” near Tel Aviv in late 2010.
Originally born in Melbourne, the 34-year-old man with a dual Australian-Israeli citizenship had worked for the Israeli spy agency, Mossad, the ABC reported.
The Israeli justice ministry said, “Following an extensive investigation it was ruled six weeks ago that it was suicide. The prisoner was held in jail under a warrant issued by a court.”
Other details of the case, however, remained under a gag order.
According to the ABC, the detainee “received no visitors and lived hermetically sealed from the outside world” while he was jailed.
Other reports also indicated that even his prison guards did not know his identity.
While the Israeli regime has not exposed the charges against the Prisoner X, the newspaper Australian suggested that he had been detained for treason.
“Why was he interned? The suspicion is because of treason against Israel,” the newspaper cited Israeli Army Radio.
Greg Sheridan, the newspaper’s foreign editor, also said, “If a former Mossad agent has ended up in an Israeli prison, this can only indicate that something has gone terribly wrong.”
Earlier in the day, Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr also confessed that the government knew an Australian had been detained by the Israeli regime in 2010 for security offences.
However, Carr’s recent revelation comes after an earlier statement that he only became aware of the man’s incarceration after his death.
Israeli Premier Netanyahu threatened media over Prisoner X: Report
Ayalon prison near Tel Aviv, where ‘Prisoner X’ committed suicide in 2010
A report says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had issued threats to stifle the media regarding the case of a reportedly Australian ‘Mossad agent’ before having to admit his secret detention in 2010.
According to a report by the Guardian on Thursday, the Israeli regime was forced to acknowledge the existence of ‘Prisoner X’ following a two-year effort to gag any media reports about the case.
On February 12, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported that Ben Zygier was “found hanged in a cell with state-of-the-art surveillance systems” near Tel Aviv in late 2010.
Originally born in Melbourne, the 34-year-old man with a dual Australian-Israeli citizenship had worked for the Israeli spy agency, Mossad, the ABC said.
The Israeli regime was forced to admit the prisoner’s existence after Australian media disclosed the secret.
The Guardian further wrote that the controversial case “saw the office of Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, threaten editors with fines or jail if they disclosed details about the case earlier this week.”
Israeli newspaper Haaretz also reported that Netanyahu had called for an urgent meeting with top editors on February 12 to ask them to withhold “publication of information pertaining to an incident that is very embarrassing to a certain government agency,” apparently referring to Mossad.
The story first emerged in June 2010, when Israeli Ynet news website published a brief report regarding the Prisoner X without elaborating. However, the story was quickly taken offline until the ABC resurfaced the case.
According to the Guardian, the Tel Aviv regime’s efforts to stifle media “backfired as Israel faced a deluge of embarrassing revelations about the case which appeared to expose the detailed workings of its overseas intelligence agency in the most graphic detail, as well as the growing irritation of Israel’s allies over the Mossad’s behavior.”
The revelation came after it emerged that Zygier had been accused by Australian journalist Jason Koutsoukis at Fairfax newspapers of being a spy shortly before his arrest.
Koutsoukis had also said Zygier was under investigation by Australia’s intelligence services and was about to be arrested over using his Australian passport for spying.
The journalist had also angered Zygier by asking if he came back to Australia to change his identity and get a new Australian passport for espionage.
The Guardian further wrote that the issue of the Mossad operations involving citizens of its allied nations and use of their passports has led to serious friction with the regime’s friends over the recent years.
“There are informal rules,” said a source familiar with intelligence co-operations, the Guardian reported.
“You inform your allies if you want to speak to someone or do something. There is a feeling the Israelis don’t play by the rules.”
A report says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had issued threats to stifle the media regarding the case of a reportedly Australian ‘Mossad agent’ before having to admit his secret detention in 2010.
According to a report by the Guardian on Thursday, the Israeli regime was forced to acknowledge the existence of ‘Prisoner X’ following a two-year effort to gag any media reports about the case.
On February 12, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported that Ben Zygier was “found hanged in a cell with state-of-the-art surveillance systems” near Tel Aviv in late 2010.
Originally born in Melbourne, the 34-year-old man with a dual Australian-Israeli citizenship had worked for the Israeli spy agency, Mossad, the ABC said.
The Israeli regime was forced to admit the prisoner’s existence after Australian media disclosed the secret.
The Guardian further wrote that the controversial case “saw the office of Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, threaten editors with fines or jail if they disclosed details about the case earlier this week.”
Israeli newspaper Haaretz also reported that Netanyahu had called for an urgent meeting with top editors on February 12 to ask them to withhold “publication of information pertaining to an incident that is very embarrassing to a certain government agency,” apparently referring to Mossad.
The story first emerged in June 2010, when Israeli Ynet news website published a brief report regarding the Prisoner X without elaborating. However, the story was quickly taken offline until the ABC resurfaced the case.
According to the Guardian, the Tel Aviv regime’s efforts to stifle media “backfired as Israel faced a deluge of embarrassing revelations about the case which appeared to expose the detailed workings of its overseas intelligence agency in the most graphic detail, as well as the growing irritation of Israel’s allies over the Mossad’s behavior.”
The revelation came after it emerged that Zygier had been accused by Australian journalist Jason Koutsoukis at Fairfax newspapers of being a spy shortly before his arrest.
Koutsoukis had also said Zygier was under investigation by Australia’s intelligence services and was about to be arrested over using his Australian passport for spying.
The journalist had also angered Zygier by asking if he came back to Australia to change his identity and get a new Australian passport for espionage.
The Guardian further wrote that the issue of the Mossad operations involving citizens of its allied nations and use of their passports has led to serious friction with the regime’s friends over the recent years.
“There are informal rules,” said a source familiar with intelligence co-operations, the Guardian reported.
“You inform your allies if you want to speak to someone or do something. There is a feeling the Israelis don’t play by the rules.”
13 feb 2013
Report: Australia seeks explanation over 'Prisoner X'
ABC network, which aired investigation on alleged Mossad agent who died in Israeli prison, says Israeli ambassador to Australia met with opposition official, said he would pass her concerns to 'relevant authorities' in Jerusalem.
Israel's ambassador to Australia met Wednesday with opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop for a pre-arranged meeting, the ABC network reported.
Speaking before the meeting, Bishop said she would be raising the issue of alleged Mossad agent Ben Zygier, who had died in an Israeli prison, with the ambassador.
She said she was concerned the Israeli government was censoring media reports.
"That's a matter that I'll raise directly with the Israeli embassy to get an understanding of the basis for it," she said.
"If there are security considerations I can understand it, but if it's just about embarrassing a government agency, then that certainly requires an explanation and I'll be seeking one."
Bishop's spokesman said the ambassador undertook to pass on her concerns to "relevant authorities" in Israel.
ABC aired an investigation on Tuesday revealing that Ben Zygier, an Australian national who was held in complete isolation at the Ayalon Prison in Ramla, had died in a high-security cell in late 2010. According to official documents, he committed suicide.
The report claimed that in the years before his arrest the man had worked for the Mossad spy agency. The State, the report said, made efforts to keep the case – and the prisoner's existence – a secret.
The ABC inquiry noted that intelligence organizations in Australia were aware of the fact that local Jews were being recruited by the Mossad. According to estimates, the recruits change their Jewish names and issue new passports allowing them to enter Arab or Muslim countries like Iran.
Warren Reed, a former intelligence operative for Australia's overseas spy agency ASIS, told ABC's Foreign Correspondent that Australians were ideal recruits for Mossad.
"Australians abroad are generally seen to be fairly innocent," he said. "It's a clean country - it has a good image like New Zealand.
"There aren't many countries like that, so our nationality and anything connected with it can be very useful in intelligence work."
The inquiry also mentioned the exposure of the cell which assassinated Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai in early 2010, which used Australian passports as well.
Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr said he was concerned by the claims.
"Those allegations certainly do trouble me," Carr said. "It's never been raised with me. I'm not reluctant to seek an explanation from the Israeli government about what happened to Mr. Allen (Zygier) and about what their view of it is.
"The difficulty is I'm advised we've had no contact with his family (and) there's been no request for consular assistance during the period it's alleged he was in prison."
Carr told ABC that in the absence of a complaint by Zygier's family, there was little for the Australian government to act upon.
Prisoner found hanged in his cell The 28-minute program revealed that Ben Zygier, who was in his 30s when he died, used the name Ben Alon while living in Israel. He was married to an Israeli woman and had two small children.
According to the investigation, the prisoner was found hanged in a cell which was equipped with state-of-the-art surveillance systems installed to prevent suicide.
Since his death, the inmate's presence has been acknowledged by neither the jail system nor the government.
According to the ABC inquiry, the case is regarded as one of the most sensitive secrets of Israel's intelligence community, with the government going to extraordinary lengths to stifle media coverage and gag attempts by human rights organizations to expose the situation.
Zygier's relatives and acquaintances, who were asked to comment on the report, refused to cooperate as well.
Zygier 'disappeared' in early 2010 According to the report, the Prisoner X cell is a jail within a jail at Ayalon Prison in the city of Ramla. It was built for the assassin of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. ABC said Zygier became its occupant in early 2010. His incarceration was so secret that it is claimed not even guards knew his identity.
Israeli media at the time reported that this Prisoner X received no visitors and lived hermetically sealed from the outside world.
ABC's Foreign Correspondent revealed that Zygier was 34 at the time of his death and had moved to Israel about 10 years earlier. He was married to an Israeli woman and had two small children.
Zygier's arrest and jailing in Israel remains a mystery, but ABC revealed that he was recruited by spy agency Mossad.
It is understood Zygier "disappeared" in early 2010, spending several months in the Prisoner X cell.
Zygier's apparent suicide in prison adds to the mystery. He was found hanged in a cell which was equipped with state-of-the-art surveillance systems installed to prevent suicide. Guards reportedly tried unsuccessfully to revive him.
His body was retrieved and flown to Melbourne. He was buried in Chevra Kadisha Jewish cemetery in the suburb of Springvale on December 22, seven days after his death.
Australian citizen killed self in Israeli jail: Report
A report says that a prisoner who has reportedly killed himself under mysterious circumstances in a high-security Israeli jail in 2010 was an Australian citizen.
According to a report released by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Tuesday, Ben Zygier, known in media as Prisoner X, was born in Melbourne. The report claimed that the 34-year-old man had worked for Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency.
The ABC report also added that Zygier “was found hanged in a cell with state-of-the-art surveillance systems,” in late 2010, following several months’ detention.
This is while, Tel Aviv reportedly concealed the existence of the prisoner and the story.
On Wednesday, Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade also confirmed in a statement that the detainee was an Australian citizen.
“The Australian Embassy in Tel Aviv was unaware of this Australian's detention until his death was reported by his family, who requested repatriation of his remains,” the statement said.
Reports say that the Australian Mossad agent was being held secretly at Ayalon prison in Ramle, situated in central Israel.
There were no official comments from the Israeli officials with regard to the report.
Israel's ambassador to Australia met Wednesday with opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop for a pre-arranged meeting, the ABC network reported.
Speaking before the meeting, Bishop said she would be raising the issue of alleged Mossad agent Ben Zygier, who had died in an Israeli prison, with the ambassador.
She said she was concerned the Israeli government was censoring media reports.
"That's a matter that I'll raise directly with the Israeli embassy to get an understanding of the basis for it," she said.
"If there are security considerations I can understand it, but if it's just about embarrassing a government agency, then that certainly requires an explanation and I'll be seeking one."
Bishop's spokesman said the ambassador undertook to pass on her concerns to "relevant authorities" in Israel.
ABC aired an investigation on Tuesday revealing that Ben Zygier, an Australian national who was held in complete isolation at the Ayalon Prison in Ramla, had died in a high-security cell in late 2010. According to official documents, he committed suicide.
The report claimed that in the years before his arrest the man had worked for the Mossad spy agency. The State, the report said, made efforts to keep the case – and the prisoner's existence – a secret.
The ABC inquiry noted that intelligence organizations in Australia were aware of the fact that local Jews were being recruited by the Mossad. According to estimates, the recruits change their Jewish names and issue new passports allowing them to enter Arab or Muslim countries like Iran.
Warren Reed, a former intelligence operative for Australia's overseas spy agency ASIS, told ABC's Foreign Correspondent that Australians were ideal recruits for Mossad.
"Australians abroad are generally seen to be fairly innocent," he said. "It's a clean country - it has a good image like New Zealand.
"There aren't many countries like that, so our nationality and anything connected with it can be very useful in intelligence work."
The inquiry also mentioned the exposure of the cell which assassinated Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai in early 2010, which used Australian passports as well.
Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr said he was concerned by the claims.
"Those allegations certainly do trouble me," Carr said. "It's never been raised with me. I'm not reluctant to seek an explanation from the Israeli government about what happened to Mr. Allen (Zygier) and about what their view of it is.
"The difficulty is I'm advised we've had no contact with his family (and) there's been no request for consular assistance during the period it's alleged he was in prison."
Carr told ABC that in the absence of a complaint by Zygier's family, there was little for the Australian government to act upon.
Prisoner found hanged in his cell The 28-minute program revealed that Ben Zygier, who was in his 30s when he died, used the name Ben Alon while living in Israel. He was married to an Israeli woman and had two small children.
According to the investigation, the prisoner was found hanged in a cell which was equipped with state-of-the-art surveillance systems installed to prevent suicide.
Since his death, the inmate's presence has been acknowledged by neither the jail system nor the government.
According to the ABC inquiry, the case is regarded as one of the most sensitive secrets of Israel's intelligence community, with the government going to extraordinary lengths to stifle media coverage and gag attempts by human rights organizations to expose the situation.
Zygier's relatives and acquaintances, who were asked to comment on the report, refused to cooperate as well.
Zygier 'disappeared' in early 2010 According to the report, the Prisoner X cell is a jail within a jail at Ayalon Prison in the city of Ramla. It was built for the assassin of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. ABC said Zygier became its occupant in early 2010. His incarceration was so secret that it is claimed not even guards knew his identity.
Israeli media at the time reported that this Prisoner X received no visitors and lived hermetically sealed from the outside world.
ABC's Foreign Correspondent revealed that Zygier was 34 at the time of his death and had moved to Israel about 10 years earlier. He was married to an Israeli woman and had two small children.
Zygier's arrest and jailing in Israel remains a mystery, but ABC revealed that he was recruited by spy agency Mossad.
It is understood Zygier "disappeared" in early 2010, spending several months in the Prisoner X cell.
Zygier's apparent suicide in prison adds to the mystery. He was found hanged in a cell which was equipped with state-of-the-art surveillance systems installed to prevent suicide. Guards reportedly tried unsuccessfully to revive him.
His body was retrieved and flown to Melbourne. He was buried in Chevra Kadisha Jewish cemetery in the suburb of Springvale on December 22, seven days after his death.
Australian citizen killed self in Israeli jail: Report
A report says that a prisoner who has reportedly killed himself under mysterious circumstances in a high-security Israeli jail in 2010 was an Australian citizen.
According to a report released by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Tuesday, Ben Zygier, known in media as Prisoner X, was born in Melbourne. The report claimed that the 34-year-old man had worked for Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency.
The ABC report also added that Zygier “was found hanged in a cell with state-of-the-art surveillance systems,” in late 2010, following several months’ detention.
This is while, Tel Aviv reportedly concealed the existence of the prisoner and the story.
On Wednesday, Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade also confirmed in a statement that the detainee was an Australian citizen.
“The Australian Embassy in Tel Aviv was unaware of this Australian's detention until his death was reported by his family, who requested repatriation of his remains,” the statement said.
Reports say that the Australian Mossad agent was being held secretly at Ayalon prison in Ramle, situated in central Israel.
There were no official comments from the Israeli officials with regard to the report.
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Ben Zygier Visited Iran Undercover for Mossad, Recruited Saudi, Iranian Students at Australian University
Israel has just released (Hebrew and English) its first official statement about its treatment of Ben Zygier. It has acknowledged without specifically naming him that it held a prisoner under a fictitious name and that the prisoner died in custody.
The State said that it had notified Zygier’s family of his detention. It said it would investigate the possibility of negligence in his treatment while in prison. In an effort to address the charge that Zygier received shoddy judicial treatment, the government also revealed that he had lawyers. He was represented by the same firm that represented Ehud Olmert and which often deals in cases with the security apparatus. But they are not attorneys known for taking on human rights cases. The claim by the State that Zygier was afforded all rights due to him as a citizen and that all legal proceedings were proper seems either laughable on its face or an outright lie. The statement also claims Zygier was held under the auspices of the justice ministry. The minister is Yaakov Neeman, the same individual who spoke from the Knesset rostrum answsering questions of MKs yesterday claiming that he knew nothing of the case and that Zygier was never under his ministry’s jurisdiction. An outright lie. A further odd development in the story is the news that Zygier, who trained as a lawyer, interned in the legal firm of the current justice minister: none other than Mr. Neeman! An Israeli judge oversaw a supposed investigation into the circumstances of his death, but the findings are secret. Six weeks ago, the file was allegedly sent by the judge to the State prosecutor for investigation of the possibility of negligence involved in the death. This is supposed to satisfy us I suppose. |
Besides the three MKs who asking probing questions of Neeman that elicited his lies, another hero of the proceedings was Binyamin Ben Eliezer, acting Speaker, who was asked by the military censor to tell MKs that there was a gag order in place that prohibited discussion of the matter. Ben Eliezer refused to relay the message to the legislators and the debate continued without interruption.
The Prisoner X-Ben Zygier case continues to develop. I will be interviewed by Israeli Channel 10′s Tzinor Layla at 12 midnight Israel time. It will be the first story up in the program. The Social TV video above was recorded about 48 hours ago and reflects what I knew at the time. But it’s still useful as an overview of the entire case.
The Sydney Morning Herald has an interesting report that includes material they reported back in 2010 about Zygier’s spying within Australia on behalf of the Mossad. He was accused then by Australia’s intelligence agency of applying multiple times for passports in different names including Ben Alon, Ben Allen and Benjamin Burrows. This is a sure sign among the world’s intelligence agencies that their nation’s passports are being used for espionage purposes.
This occurred shortly before three passports of Australian-Israeli dual citizens were cloned by the Mossad and used in the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabouh. Though there isn’t necessarily any direct connection between Zygier’s activities and the Dubai episode.
The news report also notes that Zygier enrolled at Monash University (where his mother worked) in an MBA program. While there he was allegedly seen socializing on campus with groups of Saudi and Iranian students. This might mean that just as Zygier himself was recruited to the Mossad, he may’ve been recruiting potential agents. Presumably these students would eventually return to their home countries where they might serve useful purposes for Israeli intelligence.
It appears likely that Zygier used his new passports for travel to Iran (and also possibly Lebanon and Syria). I reported that the ships of Israel’s Ofer Brothers were suspected by the U.S. of breaking the international sanctions regime against Iran. The reason they did was, at least in part, to ferry Mossad agents to and from Iran. One of them may possibly have been Zygier. In addition, several of the agents involved in the al-Mabouh assassination left Dubai via ferry to Iran. Israel is known to have an MEK-facilitated spy network inside Iran which helped in the nuclear scientist assassinations and other sabotage efforts. It’s possible an Ofer Brothers ship took those agents back to Israel. Again, this is speculation but based on known facts I’ve reported earlier.
What’s important about this is that these three countries are places in which the Mossad is very active (or wishes to be). In Iran, the Mossad has participated in acts of terror against the regime including the assassination of five nuclear scientists. Israel has also attacked Syria at least twice in the past four years, which required on the ground assistance from either agents or special forces who infiltrated the country in both cases. Israel also assassinated Imad Mugniyeh and a Syrian general in the past few years. Each would’ve required agents covertly operating on Syria territory.
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel has asked the Israeli government to remove the gag order in this case. It also posed several pressing questions about how it treated Ben Zygier after he was arrested. Among them, it asked on what basis Israel determined that Zygier had committed suicide and whether there was any evidence his death may’ve occured through other means. This is an allusion to rumors that he may’ve been murdered in prison by the authorities. Though I stress that these are rumors and not established facts.
The Prisoner X-Ben Zygier case continues to develop. I will be interviewed by Israeli Channel 10′s Tzinor Layla at 12 midnight Israel time. It will be the first story up in the program. The Social TV video above was recorded about 48 hours ago and reflects what I knew at the time. But it’s still useful as an overview of the entire case.
The Sydney Morning Herald has an interesting report that includes material they reported back in 2010 about Zygier’s spying within Australia on behalf of the Mossad. He was accused then by Australia’s intelligence agency of applying multiple times for passports in different names including Ben Alon, Ben Allen and Benjamin Burrows. This is a sure sign among the world’s intelligence agencies that their nation’s passports are being used for espionage purposes.
This occurred shortly before three passports of Australian-Israeli dual citizens were cloned by the Mossad and used in the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabouh. Though there isn’t necessarily any direct connection between Zygier’s activities and the Dubai episode.
The news report also notes that Zygier enrolled at Monash University (where his mother worked) in an MBA program. While there he was allegedly seen socializing on campus with groups of Saudi and Iranian students. This might mean that just as Zygier himself was recruited to the Mossad, he may’ve been recruiting potential agents. Presumably these students would eventually return to their home countries where they might serve useful purposes for Israeli intelligence.
It appears likely that Zygier used his new passports for travel to Iran (and also possibly Lebanon and Syria). I reported that the ships of Israel’s Ofer Brothers were suspected by the U.S. of breaking the international sanctions regime against Iran. The reason they did was, at least in part, to ferry Mossad agents to and from Iran. One of them may possibly have been Zygier. In addition, several of the agents involved in the al-Mabouh assassination left Dubai via ferry to Iran. Israel is known to have an MEK-facilitated spy network inside Iran which helped in the nuclear scientist assassinations and other sabotage efforts. It’s possible an Ofer Brothers ship took those agents back to Israel. Again, this is speculation but based on known facts I’ve reported earlier.
What’s important about this is that these three countries are places in which the Mossad is very active (or wishes to be). In Iran, the Mossad has participated in acts of terror against the regime including the assassination of five nuclear scientists. Israel has also attacked Syria at least twice in the past four years, which required on the ground assistance from either agents or special forces who infiltrated the country in both cases. Israel also assassinated Imad Mugniyeh and a Syrian general in the past few years. Each would’ve required agents covertly operating on Syria territory.
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel has asked the Israeli government to remove the gag order in this case. It also posed several pressing questions about how it treated Ben Zygier after he was arrested. Among them, it asked on what basis Israel determined that Zygier had committed suicide and whether there was any evidence his death may’ve occured through other means. This is an allusion to rumors that he may’ve been murdered in prison by the authorities. Though I stress that these are rumors and not established facts.
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Court's gag order in Zygier's case
ACRI also asks who was monitoring the prisoner and why they allowed him to kill himself? Which agency and specific personnel were responsible? What, if any actions were taken in the aftermath of his death? Regarding his detention by the Mossad/Shin Bet, what actions did they take to determine how Zygier was able to do the things he did which may’ve endangered Israel. Was there any internal review of the entire incident and what were the results of it? |
In the national security state, questions are almost never answered transparently or publicly, but it’s important they be asked to hold officials responsible.
I spoke today with a representative of an Israeli human rights NGO and asked what he knew about any legal process that might’ve happened in Zygier’s case. I’ve heard Channel 10′s chief political correspondent interviewed yesterday, saying there was none. But this human rights officer said he couldn’t comment on the matter. Which is exceedingly interesting. It could mean, if Channel 10′s report is correct, that Zygier received no due process or trial, in which case Israel was had violated its own laws and rights of not just an Israeli citizen, but an Australian citizen. This would involve grave implications for Australia-Israel relations. Or it could mean Zygier received some sort of secret Israeli trial which again would be unprecedented under Israeli law. The only other individual whose treatment parallels this was KGB spy, Marcus Klingberg, who I’ve mentioned in previous posts on this issue.
I just spoke to an Israeli human rights lawyer who believes that Zygier was likely afforded some very basis legal process, but that it is unprecedented for there to be a secret indictment, secret trial, and secret detention. He also believes if that is the case, Zygier had to have an attorney. Given what transpired I believe it’s unlikely an Israeli attorney would want to own up to the fact that his or her representation was so ineffective that his client despaired and killed himself. I also believe it’s unprecedented for there to remain a gag order against discussing a case years after the defendant has died.
Yesterday, 28,000 people visited this site, one of the largest amounts of visitors ever seen here. By noon today, I expect nearly 10,000 visitors. Over 60% came from Israel, starving for information on this case of vital national importance. It’s disturbing they couldn’t turn to their own press for original reporting. The partial Israel gag allows only reporting on this story originating abroad. Imagine you live in Paducah and there’s a corruption scandal involving the city council. But the police chief tells your local paper it can’t report on the story. Instead the only source of information you have will be a newspaper reporting from Toronto or Melbourne. Make sense? That’s Israel for you.
If you read Hebrew, the Israeli news portal Mako interviewed me yesterday. Here’s the report.
I spoke today with a representative of an Israeli human rights NGO and asked what he knew about any legal process that might’ve happened in Zygier’s case. I’ve heard Channel 10′s chief political correspondent interviewed yesterday, saying there was none. But this human rights officer said he couldn’t comment on the matter. Which is exceedingly interesting. It could mean, if Channel 10′s report is correct, that Zygier received no due process or trial, in which case Israel was had violated its own laws and rights of not just an Israeli citizen, but an Australian citizen. This would involve grave implications for Australia-Israel relations. Or it could mean Zygier received some sort of secret Israeli trial which again would be unprecedented under Israeli law. The only other individual whose treatment parallels this was KGB spy, Marcus Klingberg, who I’ve mentioned in previous posts on this issue.
I just spoke to an Israeli human rights lawyer who believes that Zygier was likely afforded some very basis legal process, but that it is unprecedented for there to be a secret indictment, secret trial, and secret detention. He also believes if that is the case, Zygier had to have an attorney. Given what transpired I believe it’s unlikely an Israeli attorney would want to own up to the fact that his or her representation was so ineffective that his client despaired and killed himself. I also believe it’s unprecedented for there to remain a gag order against discussing a case years after the defendant has died.
Yesterday, 28,000 people visited this site, one of the largest amounts of visitors ever seen here. By noon today, I expect nearly 10,000 visitors. Over 60% came from Israel, starving for information on this case of vital national importance. It’s disturbing they couldn’t turn to their own press for original reporting. The partial Israel gag allows only reporting on this story originating abroad. Imagine you live in Paducah and there’s a corruption scandal involving the city council. But the police chief tells your local paper it can’t report on the story. Instead the only source of information you have will be a newspaper reporting from Toronto or Melbourne. Make sense? That’s Israel for you.
If you read Hebrew, the Israeli news portal Mako interviewed me yesterday. Here’s the report.
12 feb 2013
Border Guard officers recorded chanting 'Muhammad is dead' in Jerusalem
Officers stationed in capital’s HaHatulot Square to prevent attacks against minorities, are recorded chanting racist epithets against Islam's prophet. After investigation officers caught and sentenced to 35 days jail time
Border Guard officers stationed in the center of a popular Jerusalem neighborhood to stop attacks against minorities, were recorded calling out racist epithets against the prophet Muhammad. The story was publicized for the first time on Monday in "Mynet Jerusalem" by reporter Moshe Heller. HaHatulot Square is known as a place for Friday night leisure activities, and hundreds of young people pass through it each week.
Just six months ago, the square was the location of an attack against a young Arab, who was viciously beaten to within an inch of his life by a group of Jewish youth.
Today, Border Guard officers are stationed in the square to guard against violence directed at minority youth by groups of young Jewish revelers. Except that a witness passing through the square over the weekend noticed a group of soldiers who were doing the exact opposite of their jobs. "A little after 1 am I passed by and saw a group of Border Guard officers laughing, dancing and singing," the witness said. "Even though they are supposed to secure the area, it seemed they were doing everything besides their jobs. To my amazement, I also heard them singing, ‘Muhammad is dead.’ So I decided to record it in with my phone.”
After this, the witness approached one of the soldiers, "You are in uniform, why do you sing these things? It could start riots." The witness said. "You are not my boss," the soldier replied.
After the complaint was filed with the Border Guard, an investigation was launched, at the end of which the soldiers were tried and sentenced to jail time, in an attempt to take a strong stand against racism.
A Border Guard spokesperson said, "The Border Guard views the behavior of the soldiers severely, it is not in line with the spirit of the organization or the values upon which the unit is based. According to the directives of the Border Guard, the event was investigated, and each of the soldiers was sentenced to 35 days in jail ."
Border Guard officers stationed in the center of a popular Jerusalem neighborhood to stop attacks against minorities, were recorded calling out racist epithets against the prophet Muhammad. The story was publicized for the first time on Monday in "Mynet Jerusalem" by reporter Moshe Heller. HaHatulot Square is known as a place for Friday night leisure activities, and hundreds of young people pass through it each week.
Just six months ago, the square was the location of an attack against a young Arab, who was viciously beaten to within an inch of his life by a group of Jewish youth.
Today, Border Guard officers are stationed in the square to guard against violence directed at minority youth by groups of young Jewish revelers. Except that a witness passing through the square over the weekend noticed a group of soldiers who were doing the exact opposite of their jobs. "A little after 1 am I passed by and saw a group of Border Guard officers laughing, dancing and singing," the witness said. "Even though they are supposed to secure the area, it seemed they were doing everything besides their jobs. To my amazement, I also heard them singing, ‘Muhammad is dead.’ So I decided to record it in with my phone.”
After this, the witness approached one of the soldiers, "You are in uniform, why do you sing these things? It could start riots." The witness said. "You are not my boss," the soldier replied.
After the complaint was filed with the Border Guard, an investigation was launched, at the end of which the soldiers were tried and sentenced to jail time, in an attempt to take a strong stand against racism.
A Border Guard spokesperson said, "The Border Guard views the behavior of the soldiers severely, it is not in line with the spirit of the organization or the values upon which the unit is based. According to the directives of the Border Guard, the event was investigated, and each of the soldiers was sentenced to 35 days in jail ."
10 feb 2013
Former MK Ratzon interrogated following sexual harassment complaints
Police investigating complaints filed by a number of female employees against former MK Michael Ratzon. Most complaints relate to verbal harassment, but one woman said he attempted to physically assault her
Police are investigating complaints filed by a number of female employees who claim they were sexually harassed by former Likud Knesset Michael Ratzon, Ynet learned on Sunday.
Ratzon, who served as a senior executive in NTA, which is responsible for the Tel Aviv Light Rail project, asked his attorney to release his name because he has "nothing to hide." The former deputy minister, who was interrogated by police, has denied the allegations. One of the complainants said he tried to physically assault her.
According to information obtained by Ynet, the complaints relate to incidents that had allegedly occurred recently. Most of the women complained of verbal harassment and alleged offers he had made to them.
The former MK told Ynet, through his attorney, that the allegations are part of a "premeditated and organized attack that is completely unfounded, meant only to prevent the extension of my service at my current position." "I have been cooperating with the law enforcement agencies. I agreed to take a polygraph test and to confront (the complainants)," he said. "I am determined not only to protect my good name and dignity, but also to expose the motive behind the filing of complaints against me at this time."
The suspect's attorney, Yuval Sasson, said the complaints had been filed as part of a "persecution" campaign against his client. "He answered all of the investigators' questions. There is unequivocal evidence that disproves the claims against my client. I am certain he will not have to further prove his innocence at a court of law, as the investigation will soon be closed."
Ratzon said that as part of the campaign's first stage an anonymous letter was sent in order to thwart his appointment as NTA chairman. The former MK said a thorough examination found that the allegations specified in the letter were false, "and after those who wanted to hurt me within the company and outside of it understood they would not get what they wanted, they apparently moved to the second phase of their plan. I wish to turn the public's attention to the fact that the company employees filed the complaints against me in a coordinated manner."
The complaints were filed with the police's Lahav 443 Unit. The investigation itself is being conducted by the National Fraud Unit. The former MK has been questioned a number of times.
Related stories:
Police are investigating complaints filed by a number of female employees who claim they were sexually harassed by former Likud Knesset Michael Ratzon, Ynet learned on Sunday.
Ratzon, who served as a senior executive in NTA, which is responsible for the Tel Aviv Light Rail project, asked his attorney to release his name because he has "nothing to hide." The former deputy minister, who was interrogated by police, has denied the allegations. One of the complainants said he tried to physically assault her.
According to information obtained by Ynet, the complaints relate to incidents that had allegedly occurred recently. Most of the women complained of verbal harassment and alleged offers he had made to them.
The former MK told Ynet, through his attorney, that the allegations are part of a "premeditated and organized attack that is completely unfounded, meant only to prevent the extension of my service at my current position." "I have been cooperating with the law enforcement agencies. I agreed to take a polygraph test and to confront (the complainants)," he said. "I am determined not only to protect my good name and dignity, but also to expose the motive behind the filing of complaints against me at this time."
The suspect's attorney, Yuval Sasson, said the complaints had been filed as part of a "persecution" campaign against his client. "He answered all of the investigators' questions. There is unequivocal evidence that disproves the claims against my client. I am certain he will not have to further prove his innocence at a court of law, as the investigation will soon be closed."
Ratzon said that as part of the campaign's first stage an anonymous letter was sent in order to thwart his appointment as NTA chairman. The former MK said a thorough examination found that the allegations specified in the letter were false, "and after those who wanted to hurt me within the company and outside of it understood they would not get what they wanted, they apparently moved to the second phase of their plan. I wish to turn the public's attention to the fact that the company employees filed the complaints against me in a coordinated manner."
The complaints were filed with the police's Lahav 443 Unit. The investigation itself is being conducted by the National Fraud Unit. The former MK has been questioned a number of times.
Related stories:
4 feb 2013
Search for parking spot ends in hospital
Two men arrested on suspicion of attacking senior citizen because he was driving 'too slow' in search for parking spot. Accused men: He instigated confrontation
Two young men, aged 25 and 26, were arrested Monday night on suspicion of physically assaulting a 71-year-old man in Herzliya. Apparently, the reason for the attack was the slow speed the elderly man was driving in.
Tuesday, the Tel Aviv District Court remanded the two young men from Tel Aviv and Ramat Gan to house arrest after they allegedly pushed the man during a heated argument. During the confrontation the man felt chest pains and was hospitalized at Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba, where he was diagnosed as possibly suffering from a heart attack; his condition is currently stable.
Maya Reiten, the lawyer representing the accused, spoke in court Tuesday and said: "The two claim that the small street they were driving on was blocked. According to them, the elderly man exited his car, screaming and causing a commotion.
"They were frightened and exited the car with the intent of calming the situation, but then a large crowd arrived at the scene and began chasing them. They escaped and there was, according to them, no physical contact whatsoever with the elderly man. He just suddenly collapsed."
The attorney further claimed that the man's nephew confirmed her clients' version of the story, but the police's representative claimed otherwise, saying: "Our investigation reports reads differently."
In explaining his decision to remand them to house arrest, Judge Shaul Avinur cited the two's lack of criminal record.
Dr. Yoal Arbel, head of Meir Hospital's Intensive Care Unit, described the man's condition: "He arrived here after losing consciousness, according to him because of an argument on a Herzliya road.
"An examination revealed that he has cardiac dysfunction and a temporary pacemaker has been put in place. He is still hospitalized in the intensive care unit, and his condition is stable and defined as light to moderate. We are still not sure whether he suffered a heart attack or not."
Driving culture The incident occurred at around 10 pm Monday night. The 71-year-old was driving in his car with a number of family members, apparently in search for a parking spot en route to a Mimuna feast.
Tailgating him were the two young men, who for some time attempted to bypass him. An argument ensued, and both parties pulled over and exited their vehicles. Police believe that during the argument the suspects pushed the elderly man, causing him to fall to the sidewalk. Following the attack, the man complained of chest pains and requested an ambulance be sent to the scene. Magen David Adom paramedics arrived and decided to evacuate the man to the hospital, where it was revealed he had suffered a heart attack.
The two suspects were arrested Monday night. On Tuesday they will be bought before a Tel Aviv District Judge, and police will request their remand be extended. The event occurred just three days after Friday's attack on a 79-year-old Holocaust survivor – who was punched after asking a man's children to stop destroying benches in central Holon – and two days after Saturday's attack on a 75 year old – who was attacked because he had the 'audacity’ to chide a couple for letting their dog loose in the children’s play area in his Herzliya neighborhood.
Related stories:
Two men arrested on suspicion of attacking senior citizen because he was driving 'too slow' in search for parking spot. Accused men: He instigated confrontation
Two young men, aged 25 and 26, were arrested Monday night on suspicion of physically assaulting a 71-year-old man in Herzliya. Apparently, the reason for the attack was the slow speed the elderly man was driving in.
Tuesday, the Tel Aviv District Court remanded the two young men from Tel Aviv and Ramat Gan to house arrest after they allegedly pushed the man during a heated argument. During the confrontation the man felt chest pains and was hospitalized at Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba, where he was diagnosed as possibly suffering from a heart attack; his condition is currently stable.
Maya Reiten, the lawyer representing the accused, spoke in court Tuesday and said: "The two claim that the small street they were driving on was blocked. According to them, the elderly man exited his car, screaming and causing a commotion.
"They were frightened and exited the car with the intent of calming the situation, but then a large crowd arrived at the scene and began chasing them. They escaped and there was, according to them, no physical contact whatsoever with the elderly man. He just suddenly collapsed."
The attorney further claimed that the man's nephew confirmed her clients' version of the story, but the police's representative claimed otherwise, saying: "Our investigation reports reads differently."
In explaining his decision to remand them to house arrest, Judge Shaul Avinur cited the two's lack of criminal record.
Dr. Yoal Arbel, head of Meir Hospital's Intensive Care Unit, described the man's condition: "He arrived here after losing consciousness, according to him because of an argument on a Herzliya road.
"An examination revealed that he has cardiac dysfunction and a temporary pacemaker has been put in place. He is still hospitalized in the intensive care unit, and his condition is stable and defined as light to moderate. We are still not sure whether he suffered a heart attack or not."
Driving culture The incident occurred at around 10 pm Monday night. The 71-year-old was driving in his car with a number of family members, apparently in search for a parking spot en route to a Mimuna feast.
Tailgating him were the two young men, who for some time attempted to bypass him. An argument ensued, and both parties pulled over and exited their vehicles. Police believe that during the argument the suspects pushed the elderly man, causing him to fall to the sidewalk. Following the attack, the man complained of chest pains and requested an ambulance be sent to the scene. Magen David Adom paramedics arrived and decided to evacuate the man to the hospital, where it was revealed he had suffered a heart attack.
The two suspects were arrested Monday night. On Tuesday they will be bought before a Tel Aviv District Judge, and police will request their remand be extended. The event occurred just three days after Friday's attack on a 79-year-old Holocaust survivor – who was punched after asking a man's children to stop destroying benches in central Holon – and two days after Saturday's attack on a 75 year old – who was attacked because he had the 'audacity’ to chide a couple for letting their dog loose in the children’s play area in his Herzliya neighborhood.
Related stories:
16 jan 2013
Teitel Convicted
Update
Ynet mentions Teitel is convicted of the attempted murder of Ami Ortiz, however gets it wrong as they claim Teitel thought Ami (15 at the time) was a leader of the Messianic congregation. This is an example of poor journalism.
Teitel was also found guilty of the 2008 attempted murder of then15-year-old Ami Ortiz. Teitel placed explosives in a package delivered to Ortiz’ home, because he believed that the teen was the leader of a messianic cult. Ortiz suffered serious injuries as a result.
Arutz7 don’t do any better as they continue to airbrush Ami Ortiz out, this time claiming he was an Arab!
Teital is of Jewish ethnicity while the victims were of Arabic ethnicity.
Ynet mentions Teitel is convicted of the attempted murder of Ami Ortiz, however gets it wrong as they claim Teitel thought Ami (15 at the time) was a leader of the Messianic congregation. This is an example of poor journalism.
Teitel was also found guilty of the 2008 attempted murder of then15-year-old Ami Ortiz. Teitel placed explosives in a package delivered to Ortiz’ home, because he believed that the teen was the leader of a messianic cult. Ortiz suffered serious injuries as a result.
Arutz7 don’t do any better as they continue to airbrush Ami Ortiz out, this time claiming he was an Arab!
Teital is of Jewish ethnicity while the victims were of Arabic ethnicity.
Ami Ortiz before
Ami Ortiz after
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Court convicts 'Jewish Terrorist' of murder
Jerusalem District Court finds Jack Teitel to be sane, criminally responsible for murder of Palestinians between 1997-2008. The Jerusalem District Court on Wednesday convicted the “Jewish terrorist” Jack Teitel of murdering two Palestinians and an assortment of other crimes. Crucially, despite Teitel saying that an “angel” had controlled him, the court found that he was not insane and was “responsible for his actions,” which made it more likely that he will get a maximum life sentence. In May, the court had accepted an unusual plea bargain made between the district attorney and lawyers representing Teitel, and determined that the defendant had murdered two Palestinians and committed other violent crimes from 1997 to 2008. Judges Zvi Segal, Moshe Hacohen and Moshe Yair Drori said the court determined that Teitel committed the acts attributed to him in an amended indictment. |
This indictment includes 10 of the original 14 charges against him, including two murders and two attempted murders, after the prosecution agreed to remove charges relating to attempted attacks that the authorities had foiled and general language about Teitel’s hatred for those who disagreed with or were different from him being the motivator for his crimes.
The court did not formally convict Teitel until Wednesday after carefully review whether he could be held criminally responsible for his actions when he committed the offenses.
Although he agreed to admit to the charges, Teitel refused to plead guilty in court because he does not recognize its authority.
Instead, in a highly unusual procedure that required special court approval, his attorney Asher Ohayon told the court that Teitel admitted to the charges in the amended indictment.
Courts normally require an accused to admit to an offense in-person as a safeguard to his rights, to be sure he has not been coerced, or is confused about what he is admitting to.
Dubbed “the Jewish terrorist,” Florida-born Teitel, 39, was originally indicted in 2009.
The court did not formally convict Teitel until Wednesday after carefully review whether he could be held criminally responsible for his actions when he committed the offenses.
Although he agreed to admit to the charges, Teitel refused to plead guilty in court because he does not recognize its authority.
Instead, in a highly unusual procedure that required special court approval, his attorney Asher Ohayon told the court that Teitel admitted to the charges in the amended indictment.
Courts normally require an accused to admit to an offense in-person as a safeguard to his rights, to be sure he has not been coerced, or is confused about what he is admitting to.
Dubbed “the Jewish terrorist,” Florida-born Teitel, 39, was originally indicted in 2009.
Samir Akram Balbisi
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He is charged with the 1997 murder of Palestinian taxi driver Samir Balbisi, who was found shot dead in his cab.
According to the indictment, in around May 1997, when Teitel was still in the US, he decided to murder Palestinians and came to Israel for that purpose, smuggling a gun into the country by hiding it in a VCR. Teitel spent his first weeks in Israel with friends in Jerusalem. Later, he acquired bullets for his smuggled gun, and sought out a suitable victim. The indictment said Teitel chose to murder an Arab taxi driver because he thought he could ask the driver to first drive him to a suitable spot. |
On June 8, 1997, Teitel went to the Arab taxi stand at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem, the indictment said, where he hired Balbisi and told him to take him to a hotel.
After driving for a while, however, Teitel told Balbisi to stop and wait, before shooting the Palestinian in the head at point-blank range.
The indictment also charges Teitel with the murder of a second Palestinian man, Beduin shepherd Isaa Mousa’af Mahamada, who was shot dead near the West Bank settlement of Carmel, near Hebron, in August 1997.
In 2000, Teitel made aliya and lived in Shvut Rachel, a West Bank settlement north of Jerusalem, where he married and had four children. Also in 2000, he was arrested by police on suspicion of carrying out both of the 1997 murders, but was later released due to lack of evidence.
In March 2008, according to the indictment, Teitel attempted to murder 15-year old Amiel Ortiz, a Messianic (i.e. Christian) Jewish teen from Ariel.
Teitel sent a bomb in a Purim gift basket to Ortiz’s home, which exploded when the youth opened it.
Other charges include planting homemade explosives in September 2008 at the home of Prof. Ze’ev Sternhell, a left-wing scholar from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Teitel also attempted to murder a resident of the Beit Jamal monastery near Beit Shemesh because he believed its inhabitants were missionaries who tried to convert Jewish children.
He attacked a police station in 2006 during a gay pride parade.
Following his arrest in 2009, Teitel was remanded into custody in a secure psychiatric facility, and though an initial psychiatric assessment in 2010 deemed him unfit to stand trial, later tests showed that he was able to face prosecution.
Teitel’s lawyers argued that their client did not know right from wrong when he committed the acts, and therefore the court could not impose a prison term.
There were even arguments that an “angel” had controlled his actions and at least one expert said that Teitel was insane. But the prosecution successfully argued that Teitel was responsible for his actions when committing the crimes.
The court said that it accepted another expert opinion that regardless of whether Teitel may have had episodes of insanity during his trial and imprisonment, if he had been insane years earlier when he committed the crimes, he would have deteriorated far more by this time.
Rather, based on the above and the rational manner in which Teitel gave statements to police when arrested, the court agreed with the expert that any episodes of insanity came after the crimes and during imprisonment.
The court made an interim finding that Teitel was sane and criminally responsible on December 7, but the final formal conviction with all of its legal consequences was not announced until Wednesday.
After driving for a while, however, Teitel told Balbisi to stop and wait, before shooting the Palestinian in the head at point-blank range.
The indictment also charges Teitel with the murder of a second Palestinian man, Beduin shepherd Isaa Mousa’af Mahamada, who was shot dead near the West Bank settlement of Carmel, near Hebron, in August 1997.
In 2000, Teitel made aliya and lived in Shvut Rachel, a West Bank settlement north of Jerusalem, where he married and had four children. Also in 2000, he was arrested by police on suspicion of carrying out both of the 1997 murders, but was later released due to lack of evidence.
In March 2008, according to the indictment, Teitel attempted to murder 15-year old Amiel Ortiz, a Messianic (i.e. Christian) Jewish teen from Ariel.
Teitel sent a bomb in a Purim gift basket to Ortiz’s home, which exploded when the youth opened it.
Other charges include planting homemade explosives in September 2008 at the home of Prof. Ze’ev Sternhell, a left-wing scholar from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Teitel also attempted to murder a resident of the Beit Jamal monastery near Beit Shemesh because he believed its inhabitants were missionaries who tried to convert Jewish children.
He attacked a police station in 2006 during a gay pride parade.
Following his arrest in 2009, Teitel was remanded into custody in a secure psychiatric facility, and though an initial psychiatric assessment in 2010 deemed him unfit to stand trial, later tests showed that he was able to face prosecution.
Teitel’s lawyers argued that their client did not know right from wrong when he committed the acts, and therefore the court could not impose a prison term.
There were even arguments that an “angel” had controlled his actions and at least one expert said that Teitel was insane. But the prosecution successfully argued that Teitel was responsible for his actions when committing the crimes.
The court said that it accepted another expert opinion that regardless of whether Teitel may have had episodes of insanity during his trial and imprisonment, if he had been insane years earlier when he committed the crimes, he would have deteriorated far more by this time.
Rather, based on the above and the rational manner in which Teitel gave statements to police when arrested, the court agreed with the expert that any episodes of insanity came after the crimes and during imprisonment.
The court made an interim finding that Teitel was sane and criminally responsible on December 7, but the final formal conviction with all of its legal consequences was not announced until Wednesday.
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Jewish settler convicted of killing 2 Palestinians
A West Bank settler dubbed "The Jewish Terrorist" by the Israeli media was convicted on Wednesday of killing two Palestinians in 1997. Yaakov "Jack" Tytell, a US immigrant to a settlement in the occupied West Bank, confessed to the killings. Efforts by his lawyers, one whom quoted him as saying he had been on a "mission from God", to have him declared insane failed. |
The court convicted him of murdering a Palestinian taxi driver in Jerusalem and a shepherd in Hebron, while visiting the area as a tourist in 1997.
Tytell moved to Israel 12 years ago and in 2008 planted bombs that injured a left-wing Israeli academic and a teenager who belonged to a group of Jews who follow the teachings of Jesus.
He admitted to the series of attacks, and flashed a V-for-Victory sign at the hearing, where sentencing was set for next month.
After Tytell's arrest in 2009, he told investigators he had acted alone and was not part of any anti-Arab Jewish underground. He was detained by police while hanging posters in Jerusalem praising a still-unsolved shooting that year that killed two people at a community center for gay youngsters in Tel Aviv.
Court convicts 'Jewish Terrorist' of murder
Jerusalem District Court finds Jack Teitel to be sane, criminally responsible for murder of Palestinians between 1997-2008.
The Jerusalem District Court on Wednesday convicted the "Jewish Terrorist" Jack Teitel of murdering two Palestinians and an assortment of other crimes between 1997 and 2008.
Crucially, the court found that Teitel was not insane and was "responsible for his actions," which make it more likely that he will get a maximum life sentence.
In May, the court had accepted an unusual plea bargain made between the district attorney and lawyers representing Teitel, and determined that the defendant had murdered two Palestinians and committed other violent crimes.
Judges Zvi Segal, Moshe Hacohen and Moshe Yair Drori said that the court determined that Teitel committed the acts attributed to him in an amended indictment.
The amended indictment includes 10 of the original 14 charges against Teitel, including two murders and two attempted murders, after the prosecution agreed to remove charges relating to attempted attacks that the authorities had foiled and general language about Teitel's hatred for those disagreeing or different from him being the motivator for his crimes.
The court did not formally convict Teitel until Wednesday to carefully review whether he could be held criminally responsible for his actions when he committed the offenses.
Although he agreed to admit to the charges, Teitel refused to come and admit the charges directly to the court in-person because he does not recognize its authority.
Instead, in a highly unusual procedure that required special court approval, Teitel’s attorney Asher Ohayon told the court that Teitel admitted to the charges in the amended indictment.
Courts normally require an accused to admit to an offense in-person as a safeguard to the rights of an accused to make sure that the accused has not been coerced or is confused about what they are admitting to.
'Jewish terrorist' Jack Teitel convicted
Jerusalem District Court finds radical rightist guilty of two counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder; rules he was sane at time of the murders
Yaakov "Jack" Teitel, notoriously known as the "Jewish Terrorist," was convicted of the murder to two Palestinians and the attempted murder of two other people.
The conviction, rendered by the Jerusalem District Court on Wednesday, stated that Teitel was in full control of his faculties at the time of the murders, thus debunking the defense's repeated claims that he was legally insane and therefore should not be held responsible of his actions.
Teitel was arrested in 2009 and was held without bail ever since. The indictment against him consisted of 10 counts, including premeditated murder, attempted murder, illegal possession of firearms, arms manufacturing and incitement to violence.
During the trial, it was also revealed that the police and Shin Bet had information which directly pointed at Teitel as the prime suspect in a series of hate crimes, but he had somehow managed to slip through their fingers.
According to court transcripts, Teitel was convicted of the 1997 murder of Samir Akram, a Palestinian bus driver, who offered him a ride. Shortly after boarding the bus, Teitel instructed Akram to pull over to the side of the road, and shot him at point-black range.
He was also convicted of the 1997 murder of Issa Jabarin, a Palestinian shepherd. Teitel shot him twice in the chest, at close range.
Teitel was also found guilty of the 2008 attempted murder of then15-year-old Ami Ortiz. Teitel placed explosives in a package delivered to Ortiz' home, because he believed that the teen was the leader of a messianic cult. Ortiz suffered serious injuries as a result.
The court further found Teitel guilty of incitement to violence and terror, after he publicly pledged a NIS 20,000 (roughly $5,000) reward to anyone killing gay men and women and "ridding the earth of this Sodom and Gomorrah."
A flyer he printed and distributed to that effect offered detailed instructions on how to construct a Molotov cocktail.
He was also convicted of targeting Prominent Israeli historian Professor Ze'ev Sternhell in 2008 by planting a pipe bomb in a plant outside his house. Luckily, Sternhell was only lightly wounded.
In May 2012, after three years of consistent denials, Teitel confessed to his crimes. In an unusual move, the confession was signed and filed with the court by his two attorneys – as he stated that he refused to recognize the court's jurisdiction.
However, the State agreed to the defense's request to omit a part of the original indictment, which stated that he was motivated by his objection to groups or individuals whose lifestyles contrasted to his own.
Tytell moved to Israel 12 years ago and in 2008 planted bombs that injured a left-wing Israeli academic and a teenager who belonged to a group of Jews who follow the teachings of Jesus.
He admitted to the series of attacks, and flashed a V-for-Victory sign at the hearing, where sentencing was set for next month.
After Tytell's arrest in 2009, he told investigators he had acted alone and was not part of any anti-Arab Jewish underground. He was detained by police while hanging posters in Jerusalem praising a still-unsolved shooting that year that killed two people at a community center for gay youngsters in Tel Aviv.
Court convicts 'Jewish Terrorist' of murder
Jerusalem District Court finds Jack Teitel to be sane, criminally responsible for murder of Palestinians between 1997-2008.
The Jerusalem District Court on Wednesday convicted the "Jewish Terrorist" Jack Teitel of murdering two Palestinians and an assortment of other crimes between 1997 and 2008.
Crucially, the court found that Teitel was not insane and was "responsible for his actions," which make it more likely that he will get a maximum life sentence.
In May, the court had accepted an unusual plea bargain made between the district attorney and lawyers representing Teitel, and determined that the defendant had murdered two Palestinians and committed other violent crimes.
Judges Zvi Segal, Moshe Hacohen and Moshe Yair Drori said that the court determined that Teitel committed the acts attributed to him in an amended indictment.
The amended indictment includes 10 of the original 14 charges against Teitel, including two murders and two attempted murders, after the prosecution agreed to remove charges relating to attempted attacks that the authorities had foiled and general language about Teitel's hatred for those disagreeing or different from him being the motivator for his crimes.
The court did not formally convict Teitel until Wednesday to carefully review whether he could be held criminally responsible for his actions when he committed the offenses.
Although he agreed to admit to the charges, Teitel refused to come and admit the charges directly to the court in-person because he does not recognize its authority.
Instead, in a highly unusual procedure that required special court approval, Teitel’s attorney Asher Ohayon told the court that Teitel admitted to the charges in the amended indictment.
Courts normally require an accused to admit to an offense in-person as a safeguard to the rights of an accused to make sure that the accused has not been coerced or is confused about what they are admitting to.
'Jewish terrorist' Jack Teitel convicted
Jerusalem District Court finds radical rightist guilty of two counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder; rules he was sane at time of the murders
Yaakov "Jack" Teitel, notoriously known as the "Jewish Terrorist," was convicted of the murder to two Palestinians and the attempted murder of two other people.
The conviction, rendered by the Jerusalem District Court on Wednesday, stated that Teitel was in full control of his faculties at the time of the murders, thus debunking the defense's repeated claims that he was legally insane and therefore should not be held responsible of his actions.
Teitel was arrested in 2009 and was held without bail ever since. The indictment against him consisted of 10 counts, including premeditated murder, attempted murder, illegal possession of firearms, arms manufacturing and incitement to violence.
During the trial, it was also revealed that the police and Shin Bet had information which directly pointed at Teitel as the prime suspect in a series of hate crimes, but he had somehow managed to slip through their fingers.
According to court transcripts, Teitel was convicted of the 1997 murder of Samir Akram, a Palestinian bus driver, who offered him a ride. Shortly after boarding the bus, Teitel instructed Akram to pull over to the side of the road, and shot him at point-black range.
He was also convicted of the 1997 murder of Issa Jabarin, a Palestinian shepherd. Teitel shot him twice in the chest, at close range.
Teitel was also found guilty of the 2008 attempted murder of then15-year-old Ami Ortiz. Teitel placed explosives in a package delivered to Ortiz' home, because he believed that the teen was the leader of a messianic cult. Ortiz suffered serious injuries as a result.
The court further found Teitel guilty of incitement to violence and terror, after he publicly pledged a NIS 20,000 (roughly $5,000) reward to anyone killing gay men and women and "ridding the earth of this Sodom and Gomorrah."
A flyer he printed and distributed to that effect offered detailed instructions on how to construct a Molotov cocktail.
He was also convicted of targeting Prominent Israeli historian Professor Ze'ev Sternhell in 2008 by planting a pipe bomb in a plant outside his house. Luckily, Sternhell was only lightly wounded.
In May 2012, after three years of consistent denials, Teitel confessed to his crimes. In an unusual move, the confession was signed and filed with the court by his two attorneys – as he stated that he refused to recognize the court's jurisdiction.
However, the State agreed to the defense's request to omit a part of the original indictment, which stated that he was motivated by his objection to groups or individuals whose lifestyles contrasted to his own.
7 jan 2013
IOA acquits settler of torching Palestinian car
The Israeli occupation authorities closed the case against a settler of Beit Ayin settlement in which he was charged with tossing a fire bomb at a Palestinian car and burning it.
The Hebrew radio said that the Israeli prosecution decided to drop the charge against the Jewish settler for “lack of evidence”.
The broadcast recalled that the incident set fire to a Palestinian taxicab and its passengers were hospitalized for treatment of burns.
The Hebrew radio said that the Israeli prosecution decided to drop the charge against the Jewish settler for “lack of evidence”.
The broadcast recalled that the incident set fire to a Palestinian taxicab and its passengers were hospitalized for treatment of burns.
6 jan 2013
Attorney blames Palestinian victim for own death
The attorney for a police officer who ordered a seriously injured Palestinian man to be abandoned on a highway seeks to have his punishment reduced from 30 months imprisonment to community service.
An attorney for one of the police officers convicted of negligently causing the death of a Palestinian man in Israel illegally sought to lay part of the blame on the deceased in a court hearing on Thursday.
Lawyer Natalie Shtrull made her comments at an appeal hearing at the Jerusalem District Court for policemen Baruch Peretz and Assaf Yakutieli, both convicted in May 2012 for the negligent homicide of Omar Abu Jariban.
In 2008, Jariban, who had illegally entered Israel from Gaza, was seriously injured after a car he stole rolled over on Route 6. He was admitted to the hospital with broken bones and neurological injuries before being released in a state of confusion, still attached to a catheter.
After space was not found for him in a prison, he was left by police on the side of a highway near an army camp in the West Bank. His body was found there two days later. It was later determined that Jariban died of dehydration.
Peretz, who was the on-duty officer during the incident, was found guilty of authorizing Yakutieli to leave Jariban on the side of the road that night, unable to walk and still attached to a catheter. The two policemen were subsequently sentenced to 30 months in prison, with the trial judge terming their conduct "ugly and nauseating."
Shtrull argued in court that her client's sentence should be reduced to community service because Jariban was partly to blame for his own death. She justified her case by saying, "the fact that this was an illegal entrant who caused an accident on Route 6, hurt six people and didn't cooperate with and mocked police."
No document indicates that six people were injured. The number generally referred to is much less.
"Isn't he partly responsible?" Shtrull added. "Does he bear no responsibility?"
An attorney for one of the police officers convicted of negligently causing the death of a Palestinian man in Israel illegally sought to lay part of the blame on the deceased in a court hearing on Thursday.
Lawyer Natalie Shtrull made her comments at an appeal hearing at the Jerusalem District Court for policemen Baruch Peretz and Assaf Yakutieli, both convicted in May 2012 for the negligent homicide of Omar Abu Jariban.
In 2008, Jariban, who had illegally entered Israel from Gaza, was seriously injured after a car he stole rolled over on Route 6. He was admitted to the hospital with broken bones and neurological injuries before being released in a state of confusion, still attached to a catheter.
After space was not found for him in a prison, he was left by police on the side of a highway near an army camp in the West Bank. His body was found there two days later. It was later determined that Jariban died of dehydration.
Peretz, who was the on-duty officer during the incident, was found guilty of authorizing Yakutieli to leave Jariban on the side of the road that night, unable to walk and still attached to a catheter. The two policemen were subsequently sentenced to 30 months in prison, with the trial judge terming their conduct "ugly and nauseating."
Shtrull argued in court that her client's sentence should be reduced to community service because Jariban was partly to blame for his own death. She justified her case by saying, "the fact that this was an illegal entrant who caused an accident on Route 6, hurt six people and didn't cooperate with and mocked police."
No document indicates that six people were injured. The number generally referred to is much less.
"Isn't he partly responsible?" Shtrull added. "Does he bear no responsibility?"
1 jan 2013
Salaymeh's killer (R)
The Inspector General of the Israeli occupation Police, Yohanan Danino, granted the Israeli soldier who had killed the youth Muhammad Salaymeh a medal of honor.
The Inspector General of the Israeli occupation Police, Yohanan Danino, granted the Israeli soldier who had killed the youth Muhammad Salaymeh a medal of honor.
The Israeli soldier had shot Martyr Salaymeh, 17, in mid-December last year after he had not responded to her call, as he suffered hearing impairment.
Yohanan Danino commended the ability of the soldier to "successfully" deal with the situation, according to his claims.
The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas in the city of al-Khalil had condemned the killing of the martyr Salaymeh.
Yohanan Danino commended the ability of the soldier to "successfully" deal with the situation, according to his claims.
The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas in the city of al-Khalil had condemned the killing of the martyr Salaymeh.
