A “hilltop youth” was killed in a car crash in Gush Etzion on Monday while being chased by the police.
The youth, who was later identified as Ahuvya Sandak, 16, from Bat Ayin, was part of a group of hilltop youth who were allegedly throwing rocks at Arab vehicles near the yishuv of Kochav HaShachar on Monday.
Israel Police arrived at the scene and the group of boys jumped into a car and fled the scene. The police pursued the car and according to the police, the driver of the youths’ car lost control during the chase and the car flipped over, killing Sandak and lightly injuring four other passengers.
However, according to Honenu, a legal aid group that is representing the victims, the undercover police vehicle smashed into the back of the victims’ car, causing their car to run off the road.
Sandak was trapped under the car and it took 40 minutes until he was extricated. Conflicting reports have emerged about delays in trying to save Sandak, with some accusing the police of negligence. Others said that the youths were unaware that Sandak was trapped under the car, assuming he had fled the scene by foot, and refused to cooperate with the police, leading to a delay in Sandak receiving life-saving care.
The Police Internal Investigations Department opened an investigation into the incident.
On Monday night, about 200 people, mainly settler youth, protested outside the national police headquarters in Jerusalem in protest of what they called the murder of Ahuvya Sandak. A large number of police forces and Border Police dispersed the demonstrators and violent conflicts ensued. A large number of protesters, about 50, were detained in the course of the protests and a Border Police officer was lightly wounded by a rock thrown by one of the protesters.
Another incident tied to the accident occurred when Yamina MK Bezalel Smotrich approached the scene of the accident and was physically prevented from doing so by a police officer, despite his parliamentary immunity.
המשטרה לא מאפשרת לח"כ בצלאל סמוטריץ' להתקרב לאיזור האירוע שבו נהרג הצעיר בן ה-16 בשומרון, השוטר במקום מאיים על סמוטריץ' ואומר לו "אתה תיעצר"
בדיוק בישביל זה יש לחברי כנסת חסינות, בושה pic.twitter.com/dzGUjxjI82— חיים גולדברג (@haim_goldberg) December 21, 2020
Gush Etzion Regional Council head Shomo Ne’eman said on Monday that it’s a difficult day for Bat Ayin and the entire Gush Etzion. “This is a dear family, known and very active in the Gush. We’re standing by their side during their deep mourning and supporting them with everything they need. The members and employees of the council and the residents of Gush Etzion embrace them and mourn their loss.”
“We’re shocked [by the accident] and demand a full investigation of what happened on the ground,” Ne’eman continued. “Apart from the need to reveal to the truth of what happened, our unequivocal demand is to stop the police violence immediately. If only a small part of the enormous resources invested in the pursuit of hilltop youth were invested in society and education, we wouldn’t be witness to this horrific tragedy that happened today.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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15 Responses
While it is unclear what really happened, I could tell you this much:
The extreme right wing settlers (No, I do not belong to this group nor do I share in their ideology)are the Israeli police’s worst enemy. Worse than the chareidim, worse than the Arabs. The police always beat them up, the shabak is known to have tortured them, and in court they constantly get unfair treatment.
I would not at all be surprised if they find video cameras showing the police jam into their car and delay treatment for the injured. Its such a common scenario, typical Israeli police behavior.
The Israeli police luckily got a new chief, were hoping for improvement.
this police brutality can only be in Israel,worse then the Nazis. I only have to look in the face of that policeman that attacks Mk Smootrich.You can see the rauth in his face.
The Nazi Zionist forces do not discriminate: mizrachi/chareidi/other — if you’re one fourth religious then you’re life is hefker. Yemach shemam!
Hashem yikom damo!
Settler youth?? Is that what you call your brethren?
Seems like all this AP copy pasting is getting to you…
Come on, stop comparing them to nazis, in fact that’s horrible to think they come even close to the nazis yemach shemom.
@Bunny76
This is what we call a bunch of lunatics who are looking for fights
@Yt: What is worse: if your enemy interacts with you at a ten out of ten on the cruelty scale, or if your brother interacts with you at a five out of ten on the cruelty scale?
@commonsaychel: In what world did it become okay to refer to a recently killed jewish teenager as a “lunatic looking for a fight”? What is wrong with you?
@yashar the police aren’t their brothers, and probably not Jewish anyway,
and for the scale, 10/10 from enemies is much worse, from the victims perspective.
It did not flip over. They killed him. Police bumped the car on purpose so hard that they flew tens of meters. And then they let him bleed to death, denying Zaka and amblulancesmfor over 1.5 hours. Reshoim arurim. Erev Rav. May Hashem avenge the blood of this pure soul.
You commentators are all nuts! These “hilltop youth” are rotzchim! I dont know if its their families or are they from dysfunctional families. Nevertheless their actions even if motivated by frumkeit are wrong and no different then the crab crazies who are taught that all Jews deserve to die.
Their hashkofo needs to be ERADICATED! An iron hand is needed to DESTROY this horribly revolting philosophy of killing or even stoning random Arabs. It just feeds into the belief that hard core jews are no different than hard core Hamas Arabs.
@Yt:
If you objectively look at the facts, the Zionist police (at least some) are certainly comparable to Nazis, and that’s being kind to the Zionist police.
The Zionist police, unlike the Nazis, are “Jewish” and employed by the “Jewish” State. So for the Zionist police to rival the Nazis in brutality and abuse, but against their own brethren and fellow citizens of Israel – that is indeed worthy of comparison to the Nazis.
@Yt: I am not sure, but I think they most probably ARE their Jewish “brothers”; I may be wrong. Additionally, besides for the fact that I am entirely unsure whether — even in the victim’s eyes — 10/10 from enemies is worse… the victim’s perspective is not what defines a person as a Nazi; the objective perspective does.
@HaKatan: Thank you. Beautifully and level-headedly stated. Additonally, thank you for putting quotation marks around the word “Jewish.”
Whether or not the police handled it correctly, the boys should not have been throwing rocks at the Arab vehicles. Yes, I want an exclusively Jewish homeland too, but this random hooliganism is not any path to it, and is not a movement that will achieve anything but tit for tat rockthrowing from errant Arab youth. Their “cause” is just an excuse for teenage misbehavior. I am still sorry though for the death of Ahuvya that resulted.