Palestinian student: Israel Border Police beat me for hours
Police attacked because ID card showed home village as a notorious protest site, man claims.
By Amira Hass Tags: Israel news West Bank PalestiniansA Palestinian who was imprisoned for a week says members of the Border Police beat and abused him for hours, then accused him of attacking one of them.
Omar A'laa al-Din, 25, of the West Bank village Ma'sara, was released from prison two days ago. On Thursday, 10 days after a run-in with the Border Police, bruises are clearly visible on his back and leg. He has trouble walking and sitting, and his eyesight has been impaired from blows to his head, he says.
The IDF Spokesman's Office, for its part, says A'laa al-din tried to attack members of the Border Police during regular inspection work.
A'laa al-din, who studies English and French at Hebron University, was returning by bus from Bethlehem on March 15. At the "container" checkpoint south of Abu Dis, two members of the Border Police boarded the bus. One of them took A'laa al-din's ID card, and seeing he was from Ma'sara, whose residents demonstrate weekly against the separation fence on their land, ordered him off the bus.
One of the Border Policemen struck him on the left leg twice with his truncheon, he says. A'laa al-din fell and his leg started bleeding. Two other Border Policemen dragged him to a small concrete cell where they beat him on the head, back and face after binding his hands with iron cuffs, he says.
They continued beating him and hurling him against the cell walls for hours. Blood poured from his mouth, his vision blurred and he felt dizzy and cold, he says. He received water half an hour after he asked for it, and when he asked again he received a glass with urine in it.
After midnight he was taken to the Ma'aleh Adumim police station, where he was told that one of the members of the Border Police had filed a complaint that A'laa al-din had attacked him. From there he was taken to Jerusalem's Russian Compound police station, where he was denied medical treatment.
Later he was taken to Ramle Prison where he was held for five days. He was then taken to the Ofer military base, where a military judge, Lt. Col. Eran Laufman, released him on March 22 on bail of NIS 1,000.
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to texas adam Sounds like good advice to me.
Lower brow uniformed thugs than the Israeli border police perhaps are only the armed guardians composed from the IDF dropouts and reserve. Years ago as a student I to applied to this guardian quick job agency run by a several ex-officers - the saddest company of shadows scratching unbuttoned hairy bellies in a smoky room, distracting themselves by patting their pistols. I served one night guarding the TV installations in the middle of the Western Wall Plaza and couldn't gather myself to go and collect my salary and face those poor souls once more. As for the Border Police, one can occasionally see them around Abu Tor and Cinemateque areas in Jerusalem stopping and abusing Arab kids for no other reason than pleasure of abuse. For the real experience I advise catching an Arab 'sherut' circulating from Bethlehem to Damascus Gate, through the improvised BP checkposts. But the scariest and saddest sight of all are the mass gathering of the BP.
The article states the bruises are still visible, even after being held in prison 4 five days. Most cases of abuse of power do not take place in front of witnesses for some reason. (Perhaps fear of being caught and hopefully some sense of shame.) I do not believe Mr. Ala'Eddin beat himself up or put himself in prison and I'm ashamed that my tax dollars subsidize this illegal occupation. I've shared that opinion with my representatives in government....for what that is worth & with my retailers.
This is an example of what Plestinian civilians encouter in their daily life in the Jewish and only democratic state in the Middle East.
Were there any witnesses? Or is this yet another story from a "reliable Palestinian source"?
Was A'laa al-din being detained because of outstanding warrants? Did his behavior merit some corrective measures? Amira is quite good at telling half the story. For now, I simply don't buy this tale as written.
several points 1. as usual with amira, we have arabic side of the story, 2. most if not all of border police are of minorities, druze, circassians, beduins etc. no jews. so it ios more muslim to muslim behaviour. 3. years ego i was in gaza with druze as commander. he did beat and fisically abused a lot of gazans giving as explanation that in such a way gazans will understand who is giving orders here. 4. it is a muslim mentality, nothing to do with jews or israel.
Israeli culture of impunity
... ah well, speaks for itself...
Sura 3:28 ...let not the believers take for friends unbelievers rather than believers. If any do that, in nothing will there be help from Allah; except by way of precaution that ye may guard yourselves from them. But Allah cautions you Himself... The word 'guard' in the phrase 'guard yourselves from them' is known as takiyya. As an addition to takiyya, Muhammad sanctioned lying by saying that Allah will not hold a Muslim accountable when he lies in these three situations: when in war, espionage, concealment, or in weakness with his wife, or a wife with her husband when reconciling or maintaining peace Muhammad went on to say, "War is deception." This deception can be practiced at a personal level as well as at community level through its leaders and institutions. Takiyya is practiced by all Muslims, Sunni and Shi'ites alike.
no matter what , they should insist on putting video cameras at such crossing . This will keep the IDF honest and present the facts as they happen. The cameras should pan, zoom and scan this way nobody is pulled off camera and beaten.. Thugs.....
Even though I'm a conservative Zionist, I find the Border Police to be the IDF's and Police's (depending on where they're deployed) lowest common denominator. I've witnessed them mandhandle Palestinians for no other reason than that they could. In fact, some of their actions have nearly sparked riots. There's a difference between tough policing and idiotic brutality. Unfortunately, as long as the Border Police are drafted from the ranks of society's dregs, this behavior will continue.
Borders Spreading fear among the Palestinians population, cases like this should be investigated and instigators should be punished.
Thank you for the story. I am pleased that Ha'aretz goes into areas other online Israeli newspapers are unwilling to travel. This is one of them.