Last Friday, a Jewish man and his family were traveling near the Meitzad junction in Gush Etzion. Two Arabs stood by the side of the road and threw stones at them. The driver kept driving and stopped after a few hundred meters to assess the damage to his car and call security forces. Later, the stone-throwers claimed that the driver attacked them.
Slowly many Arabs, including the same two stone-throwers, gathered around the car. They began to beat the driver, hitting his head and other parts of his body, and causing damage to the car – all while his wife and toddler son were inside. IDF forces that arrived at the scene quickly managed to disperse the Arab attackers and some of them were detained. Meanwhile, residents of the community of Meitzad also arrived on scene.
Residents report that police officers from the Etzion Station who arrived at the scene began issuing tickets against the residents who were standing on the side of the road. In addition, one of the police officers ordered the soldiers to release all the Arab assailants, except one, without collecting their details, and even detained the driver for interrogation under caution. Just before Shabbat, and after taking a statement from the driver's wife, the family was released.
Attorney Chaim Bleicher from the 'Honenu' legal aid organization sent a letter to Deputy Commissioner Uzi Levi, Commander of the Judea and Samaria District, criticizing the police’s conduct. "This incident occurred in the midst of a war when the harmful intentions of the terrorists are blatantly obvious. The conduct of the police here was unacceptable. Instead of ensuring that criminal charges be filed against the terrorists for the attempted murder of my client, they chose to release the vast majority of the terrorists and directed their focus against the victims."
Attorney Bleicher also noted in his letter that the driver was injured in the attack and is undergoing rehabilitation in neurological center due to the trauma sustained to his head. He is being supported by the Terror Victims Department of the National Insurance Institute in his rehab. Additionally, Attorney Bleicher demanded that the commander of the Southern District immediately arrest all the terrorists who took part in the incident and address the police officer who released them in the field. “The failure to deal with this terrorism sends the wrong message and negatively impacts the security of residents throughout the region and indeed, throughout the country. There is a clear need for decisive and persistent action against terror," Attorney Bleicher concluded his letter.
We reached out to the Israeli police for a response regarding the incident, but have not received a reply.
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