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Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher; Photo credit: Honenu
Wednesday, August 30, 2023, 16:36 Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher requested that the State Attorney’s Office reopen an investigative case against an Arab minor who threatened Jews in Jerusalem’s Old City. The police detained the minor but closed the case without an indictment two days later.
In his letter, Attorney Bleicher described the incident that occurred on July 19, 2023: “As my client was walking with a friend and his friend’s two small daughters on the Via Dolorosa in the Old City of Jerusalem, an [Arab] minor stepped out of a store. The minor stood opposite my client and showed him the knife that he was holding in a manner that my client felt was threatening. My client passed the minor, took a few steps, and warned his friend that the minor had threatened him with a knife. My client and his friend then turned around and walked back. The minor entered the store.”
“When my client asked the minor why he was holding a knife, his uncle, the store owner, came out, threatened, and shouted at my client and his friend. He shouted he would stab them in their bottoms, and other unprintable threats and curses. My client [and his friend] quickly walked to a nearby police checkpoint and summoned police officers. The officers came to the store and questioned the suspects about the knife. The suspects denied the incident even after the officers searched the store and found the knife on a table under several garments. The suspects were detained for questioning at the checkpoint, but not detained for interrogation. Two days later, my client was informed that the case had been closed because the minor is not of a criminally responsible age.” In the appeal, Bleicher cited that if a minor has reached the age of 12 years, he may be put on trial.
Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher, warned not to underestimate this incident because of the situation in Israel, particularly in the Old City of Jerusalem: “Unfortunately, we are familiar with terror attacks carried out by minors. The minor’s uncle, who joined in threatening the victims and helped the minor conceal the knife from the police officers, must be prosecuted along with his nephew. Failure to decisively penalize the minor and his uncle will cause an increase in the severity of their acts and those of their friends. Jewish lives will be endangered. We demand that the law enforcement authorities do their job and put the adult on trial. Regarding the minor, we demand that he be tried for the most serious crime possible. If he is not criminally responsible, then the Ministry of Welfare must treat him and his family to prevent him from causing damage.”