9 out of 11 Ramat Migron detainees released

Sunday, June 17, 16:28 Honenu reports that nine out of the eleven detainees from last night’s incident in Ramat Migron have been released. Following the ruling of the district court that residents of the site are considered permanent residents the police refrained from extending the remand of the detainees. In a rare step the police will appeal the decision in the Supreme Court.
After a period of waiting and interrogation lasting more than ten hours at the Sha’ar Binyamin Police Station, nine out of eleven of last night’s detainees have been unconditionally released. Approximately half of the detainees are minors aged 15-17. They were interrogated on suspicion of violating a closed military zone order, trespassing, obstructing a policeman in the line of duty, causing damage and disturbing a policeman in the line of duty. Two adult female detainees will be brought later to a deliberation in front of a judge. The reason for the deliberation is not clear at this time.
Last night border policemen raided the Ramat Migron outpost in the Binyamin region. The policemen, who attempted to enter the home of a young couple residing at the outpost as their house-warming party was taking place, were refused entry due to the fact that they did not have a search warrant authorizing them to enter the house.
The policemen surrounded the house for several hours until reinforcements of border policemen and IDF soldiers arrived, at which time they broke down the door and entered the house. The owners of the house and nine others were detained. According to the detainees even though they did not resist the police conducted themselves violently, including twisting arms and beating detainees without cause.
The detainees were taken to the Sha’ar Binyamin Police Station where they were interrogated until 15:00, on suspicion of violating a closed military zone order on Ramat Migron and trespassing, being as according to the police the land on which the outpost was built is privately owned by Arabs. The youths responded to the police that they are permanent residents of the site and therefore the closed military zone order is not applicable to them, according to the ruling of the magistrate and district courts on the matter. D., one of the detainees, told Honenu that after they asserted that they were residents of the site the policemen spoke among themselves and said that they could do nothing with the detainees. Honenu attorney Adi Kedar is handling the case.
The youths were also interrogated for obstructing a policeman, causing damage, and disturbing a policeman in the line of duty.
To reiterate, approximately one month ago in a deliberation on the Aryeh Davis case, the Jerusalem Magistrate Court ruled in a case, which now serves as a precedent, that the closed military zone order does not apply to Jews who are permanent residents of the site. According to the courts a clause of closed military zone orders which exempts residents of a site is applicable to not only Arabs but also to Jews and therefore Davis may remain in his home despite the order. The police appeal on the matter to the Jerusalem District court was rejected; the district court authorized the ruling of the magistrate court. Approximately one week later the Jerusalem Magistrate Court ruled again that Jews can be considered residents of the site, as is the case with a youth detained in Ramat Migron.
Subsequent to this ruling the police find it difficult to enforce the closed military zone orders in the area of Ramat Migron and are forced, time after time, to release from remand residents of the site. Approximately two weeks ago during a deliberation on a Ramat Migron resident detained at the site the police admitted that the court ruling limited them and they intend to appeal it in the Supreme Court.
The deliberation on the appeal in the Supreme Court has been scheduled for this coming Thursday.