The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court on Sunday ordered the State Attorney’s Office to transfer all files closed against Arabs suspected of incitement and violence against Jews during weddings.

Judge Eitan Cohen accepted the defense attorneys’ request and ordered the State Attorney’s Office to disclose cases in which Arabs and left-wing activists suspected of violence and incitement against Jews and rightists were ultimately released and no indictment was filed against them.

Three years ago, a number of people were documented during a wedding, waving arms and even stabbing the picture of the baby Ali Darawshe, who was burned with arson in the village of Duma. Eight of the participants, including the chosson, were arrested and have since been tried for incitement to violence and terrorism.

Among the cases that will be examined, in light of the demands of the lawyers of the defendants Itamar Ben-Givir, Yitzhak Bam, Adi Kedar, Avichai Hajbi, Lior Kahane, Moshe Polski and David Halevi, there are 17 cases in which Arabs were suspected of similar offenses of waving weapons during weddings in the Arab sector. The purpose of the demand is to prove that there is discrimination in the severity of the treatment of similar incidents and that selective enforcement is being conducted between Jews and Arabs.

After the State Attorney’s Office rejected the defense request, Justice Cohen ordered that every citizen is entitled to receive information from a public authority under the law, particularly when it comes to defendants defending themselves during their trial. At the same time, he stressed that the acceptance of the application is not necessarily an obligation to accept the claim of discrimination.

Attorney Ben-Givir expressed his satisfaction with the decision, saying that “this is an important decision that will force the prosecution to reveal what has been hidden for years. One sentence for the defendants in our case and another for hundreds of Arabs who shoot at weddings and wave weapons or incite to violence and hold memorial ceremonies for shahids. There is severe discrimination and the court’s decision will make it easier for us to expose it.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)