Israeli cop indicted for brutal beating of Palestinian

An Israeli police intelligence officer has been indicted for beating and injuring a Palestinian detainee, according to a report in Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

The details of the indictment allege that the officer struck the Palestinian with an iron bar and an electric fan, and also kicked him as he was lying on the floor.

In addition, the Justice Ministry has urged police to file disciplinary charges against three police officers who apparently witnessed the beating but did not report it.

According to the indictment, the incident took place in Ashkelon in February when police officers entered an apartment looking for suspects in a synagogue break-in.

One of those present, Ashkelon police station’s intelligence officer Yahav Simon, “immediately slapped one occupant in the face” and asked who slept in one of the bedrooms.

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Unsatisfied with the response, Simon grabbed one of the Palestinian residents “and dragged him into the bedroom”. After questioning the man – who “did not understand Hebrew” – Simon then began “beating the Palestinian with an iron bar that was in the bedroom”.

After further questions, as the beating continued, Simon then took the man back to the apartment’s main room where he “allegedly hit the man in the back with an electric fan, causing him to fall down”. He then “began kicking the Palestinian where he lay.”

The man needed medical treatment and subsequently complained to the Justice Ministry.

Haaretz notes that a state comptroller’s report in April “accused both the Justice Ministry and the police of failing to properly address police brutality”.

Most complaints against police officers are not investigated adequately “and only rarely did police face either criminal or disciplinary charges”. Police officers are also “rarely suspended from the force even if they were indicted, and sometimes not even if they were convicted”.