Arab assailant wielding club
Thursday, June 5, 2014, 22:28 A group of Jewish youths was attacked on Tuesday, June 3, the eve of the Shavuot holiday, by Arabs near the Dung Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem as they walked to the Western Wall. According to the youths, they were walking towards the Western Wall Plaza and as they walked down from Mt. Zion towards Dung Gate, one of them stopped for a moment. The rest of the group continued but suddenly noticed that an Arab approximately 35 years old was attacking their friend. The youths went back to help their friend, several more Arabs arrived, some of them armed with clubs and then one of the Arabs clubbed one of the Jewish youths in the head.
The injured youth was rushed to the Hadassa Ein Kerem Hospital in serious condition, suffering from a skull fracture and internal bleeding as a result of the blow to his head. The youth was hospitalized in intensive care and will remain in intensive care for several days. Also, the doctors are considering an operation.
During the assault, the Arab started to yell at the injured youth, claiming that the area belonged to him and started to choke the youth. The police detained the Arab and his remand was extended. However, under interrogation the Arab claimed that the youths had entered his private property.
The Merchav David (Old City District) Police wasted no time and, despite the youth’s serious injury, hurried to the hospital where he was hospitalized. Initially, the police interrogator recorded testimony from the injured youth who described the assault and insisted that he hadn’t entered private property. Several hours later, after the holiday of Shavuot had begun, the police interrogators returned to the intensive care ward, this time to interrogate the injured youth on suspicion of assaulting the Arab (the assailant) with pepper spray, as claimed by the Arab.
One of the youths recorded part of the incident in a video clip, in which the assaulting Arab is seen beating the youth with a club without any assault on the part of the Jewish youth. The two sides were then heard exchanging words.
Please click here for the video clip: Arab with club attacks Jewish youth, Video credit: Honenu
On the night of Wednesday, June 4, after the Shavuot holiday was over, the assaulted youth filed a complaint with the police. On the morning of Thursday, June 5 the video clip documenting the incident was given to the police.
Honenu, which is providing legal counsel to the injured youth and the rest of the group, regards the incident as serious. The police automatically accused Jews of assault even when testimony from eye-witnesses and the video clip clearly show that it was the Jews who were assaulted in a nationalistically motivated attack when all they wanted to do was walk along a public thoroughfare in order to pray at the Western Wall.
“It cannot be that in every clash between Jews and Arabs the police immediately blame the Jews, as if we are still living in the British Mandate period,” said a representative of Honenu on the morning of Thursday, June 5. “The lack of sensitivity screams to the Heavens, when they [the police] cannot wait even a moment and interrogate a injured youth hospitalized in intensive care over a baseless claim by the Arab who almost killed him.”
Attorney Itamar Ben-Gvir, who is representing one of the assaulted youths, said in response that, “If the roles were reversed, all of Israel would be dealing with this issue only. The media would splash headlines in red, the police would be detaining suspects and Tzipi Livni, Shimon Perese and even the Prime Minister would be denigrating the suspects. But when it’s a Jew being clubbed in the head, hypocrisy reigns and the media is silent. We demand that the police file an indictment and request that the assailant be held in remand until the end of proceedings.”
Video and photo credit: “The Honenu Organization”