Israeli university lecturer suspended after kidnap and assault of Palestinian

An Israeli lecturer from Hebrew University has been suspended following formal charges of kidnapping and attacking a Palestinian in the Jordan Valley, alongside eight other Israeli suspects. Criminology lecturer Michael Wolfowicz will remain suspended until the semester ends in February, at which time the university will hold a further hearing to review his case, the university authorities announced on Sunday.

According to a letter shared with staff and students, if Wolfowicz is not cleared of all charges, he will no longer teach there. “The acts Dr Wolfowicz is suspected of may not be related to his work at the university, but the university is obligated to preserve an educational and research environment that is safe, dignified and free from any conduct that is incompatible with the values of our community,” said the university’s letter.

The nine Israeli suspects, including Wolfowicz, are accused of attacking Laith Awaine, a Palestinian resident of Bethlehem, who was visiting Auja Stream with friends when the violent incident occurred. According to witness accounts provided to Haaretz, Israeli soldiers accused Awaine and others present of being associated with Hamas, after which they restrained him with handcuffs, beat him using a wooden object and the butt of an M16 rifle, and threw him into the stream. He was then abandoned on a road several miles from the scene of the attack.

The witnesses, friends of the victim, said that masked security forces restrained him, blindfolded him, and forced the rest of the group to remain inside one of their vehicles. Awaine was later found unconscious and taken to the Turkish Hospital in Tubas, in the northern West Bank. According to the hospital’s medical report, he was unconscious when he arrived, with extensive injuries, including broken teeth, a split lip, leg wounds, back and eye trauma and fractures in his vertebrae and ribs.

An investigative team including Israeli police and military personnel is handling the case, reported Haaretz.

All parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Jerusalem are witnessing raids and incursions into villages and towns by the occupation forces and illegal Jewish settlers. All of Israel’s settlements and the settlers who live in them are illegal under international law. The International Court of Law reiterated this fact in July and ruled that the Israeli occupation must end.

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