The Jerusalem Magistrate Court ordered the state to pay a former Otniel resident who was violently arrested during a protest in 2010 against the evacuation of an outpost near Kiryat Arba. Justice Michal Sharvit felt that while the arrest was legitimate, the border policemen used unjustifiable force against the youth.

A number of masked youths threw stones at a police officer and the youth was arrested on suspicion of being one of the masked attackers. The young man was released to house arrest and no indictment was filed against him.

The young man filed a complaint with the Justice Ministry Police Investigations Unit, citing the unjustifiable use of force against him. Simultaneously, he filed a suit seeking NIS 25,000 in compensation for false arrest and the violence used against him by border police.

The court viewed videos taken from the area on that day and heard testimony of the different parties involved. The court decided to award the wound many NIS 20,000 in damages resulting from the police brutality. The state must also pay his legal fees amounting to NIS 4,000.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)