Honenu Atty. Nati Rom; Photo credit: Honenu
Friday, October 1, 2021, 12:15 During the Succot holiday, several Jewish residents of the Har Hevron region were detained following clashes involving Arabs and anarchists. During a court hearing, a representative of the Yehuda and Shomron Police admitted that Arabs and anarchists had attacked security forces, but only Jewish residents were detained and interrogated.
On Friday, October 1, Jerusalem Magistrates Court Judge Havi Toker rejected a request by the police to extend the detainees’ remand by five days and ordered the unconditional release of two of them. Concerning an additional detainee, a minor, Judge Toker ruled that he had no connection to the clashes with the Arabs and ordered his remand extended only until Sunday. Honenu Attorney Nati Rom represented the detainees.
At the hearing, a police representative admitted that anarchists and the Arabs took part in the clashes and attacked security forces and Jews at the site. He also admitted that none of the Arabs or anarchists had been detained or even interrogated, and that the police are focusing on interrogating only Jewish residents of the region.
At the conclusion of the hearing, the police representative asked the court to delay the release of the detainees so that the police could appeal to the district court. Judge Toker rejected the request and maintained the order to immediately release the detainees.
Honenu Attorney Nati Rom: “We are very pleased with the decision by her honor, Judge Havi Toker, to immediately and unconditionally release two of the detainees. The request by the police to delay the release also was not accepted and Judge Toker ruled that there were no reasonable grounds for the detention, because the detainees were detained only because of their outward appearance, which is no less serious than the violent incidents we are witnessing.
“The Unit of Nationalist Crime in the Central Unit of Yehuda and Shomron Police admitted in court that they had not fully investigated the incident. They do not acknowledge the disturbances and riots which take place every Friday, like in this incident, at which rocks are thrown at IDF soldiers and Jewish residents of the area. We hope that the violence in the area will stop and that the police brutality and false detentions will stop immediately,” added Rom.