The Police Investigation Unit announced that the policeman suspected of slapping a then 11 year-old boy from Yitzhar during his detention in July 2013 would be put on trial. According to the announcement an indictment will be filed against the policeman on an assault charge.

On Sunday, July 21, 2013 a boy from Yitzhar, then 11 years old, was detained for interrogation by policemen at the Shaar Binyamin Industrial Zone as he was traveling to a wedding with his sister. According to the policemen the boy punctured the tires of cars belonging to Arabs and used a marker to write on the cars graffiti reading “Death to Arabs” and “Price Tag”.

The boy was taken to the police station and interrogated. He denied all connection to the acts and said that a policeman, whom he named in a complaint filed after his release, hit him and slapped him in the face while other policemen yelled at him and threatened him that if he didn’t confess to carrying out the acts he would be sent to prison for a long time.

After his release the boy, with the help of his father, filed a complaint with the Police Investigation Unit, and an investigation was opened. In the course of the investigation the boy was summoned to a polygraph test, the results of which showed that he was telling the truth. The policeman suspected of slapping the boy refused to be tested, which increased the suspicion that he had acted violently and not in accordance with the law. Last week the Police Investigation Unit announced to the family that the policeman would stand trial for a criminal violation and that an indictment charging him with assault would be filed.

Honenu has been handling the boy’s case and in response to the announcement stated, “We welcome the decision to put the policeman on trial for a criminal offense, a significant step which has come very late.”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)