Injured minor; Photo courtesy of the family
Sunday, November 29, 2020, 11:39 Early Sunday morning, at approximately 5:00, a minor recovering from a traffic accident in which he was injured the previous week was detained in his bed at home in Yitzhar. He required a complicated operation on his arm, which was set in a cast. The policemen ignored the pleas of his parents, who asked them not to detain him due to his medical condition, which includes intense pain, and woke up the entire household. The minor was taken to the police station, interrogated on suspicion of involvement with an incident that occurred several weeks ago, and released after the interrogation.
At the police station the minor complained about his severe pain, but received no response from the policemen. Honenu Attorney Adi Kedar is assisting the minor: “A detention warrant for a minor is a last resort, to be used after all attempts to summon him in an organized manner have been tried, which was not done in this case. The Israeli Police rushed to issue a detention warrant and carried it out at a very early hour of the day, with no consideration for the minor’s sensitive medical condition. It appears that someone is looking for showcase detentions and intimidation, not measured law enforcement according to good judgment. I say, regretfully, that a family in Tel Aviv would have received different treatment. I call on Amir Ohana, the Public Security Minister, to carefully examine what is happening in the Yehuda and Shomron District.”
The minor’s father: “The Israeli Police came to our house in the middle of the night, woke up the entire family, caused a disturbance, and frightened the small children. We explained to them [the policemen] that the boy is recovering from an operation, he has a cast and is under medical care, but they paid no attention. The policemen didn’t listen. They showed total disregard. After several hours he was released. They couldn’t have summoned us in a normal way? For what was all the commotion? The educational damage to our children, the neighbors’ children and all the children in the community is irrevocable. For no reason they are causing a generation of children to not trust the police, not trust the State, and it’s all because of a lack of consideration by the policemen. What a shame.”