The following are excerpts from a report by
the B'Tzedek Civil Liberties Organization and the Hebron Jewish Community.
(...) The relevant Israeli agencies (i.e. the Israel Police and the IDF military prosecutor) apply a lenient and --apparently-- intentionally lax law enforcement policy to the Arabs of Hebron.
In the first half of 1997 alone, 1,048 cases were opened [by the Hebron police] against Arabs" -- thus reported officer Avi Tarar of the Judea-Samaria District Police in a letter to Hebron resident Malka Chaikin.
However...the number of files opened against Arabs--1048--is less than half the number of violent crimes known to have been committed by Arabs during that same period (the first half of 1997) in the area of Hebron under Israel control (area "H2").
We would note also that during this time-period there were 16 days of violent rioting in Hebron. On each day of rioting, scores of Molotov cocktails and hundreds of rocks were thrown by Arab rioters. This is in addition to the "regular" daily regimen of terror and violence in Hebron during this period, which included scores of stonings, firebomb attacks, assaults, incidents of incitement and desecration of Jewish holy places.
Why, then, only 1048 criminal cases? Officer Tarar refused to respond to this question, but the answer can easily be deduced from the facts presented in his letter. Tarar describes the crimes for which files were opened: "various incidents of rock-throwing, planting of bombs, possession of explosives and attacks on police and soldiers."
In other words, files were opened for serious crimes only. There is no mention of numerous minor offenses known to have been regularly committed by Arabs, such as creating a public disturbance, defacing property, disorderly conduct, interfering with a police officer, insulting a police officer, interfering with a public servant, vandalism, etc.--charges for which many dozens of criminal cases have been opened against Jews in Hebron.
Insulting and denigrating police officers and
soldiers have never been grounds for criminal
charges against Arabs in Hebron. On the contrary, soldiers
who have responded to their assailants were
court-martialed and jailed. For example, in January 1997 police
officer Ami Griber was attacked in downtown Hebron by an
Arab who attempted to strangle him. Griber arrested the
Arab and then immediately released him without charges,
claiming that the man was "old." (In fact, the Arab was
no older than Hebron settlement leader Rabbi Moshe Levinger, who has been repeatedly charged for petty
offenses.)
Even serious crimes committed by Arabs in Hebron are not always dealt with by the Israeli police. For example, during the serious riots and disturbances which took place next to Beit Hadassah in March and April 1997, in which Arabs threw rocks into courtyards and residences, injured children and damaged property, police commanders informed the Jewish community that the police were forbidden to take any action (including filing charges, conducting investigations, surveillance photography of rioters, etc.)....
Another problem: the police refuse to investigate crimes committed by Arabs unless there is a complain-
Soldiers who have responded to their Arab assailants were court-martialed and jailed.
The Hebron police refused to open an investigation against an Arab who committed an indecent act against a Jewish minor, despite the fact that a photograph of the Arab taken at the moment of the crime was provided to the police. According to the police, "in order for evidence to be presented in court, the complainant
(Continued on p.6)
November 1998 - 5 - Outpost