Mista’arvim in Geulat Tzion incident

Monday, January 23, 2017, 13:51 Honenu Attorney Moshe Pulaski: “It was a staged provocation which endangered everyone involved with the incident.”
The indictment filed on Monday, January 23 against four Geulat Tzion residents suspected of throwing stones at Arabs and policemen who arrived in the area of the outpost on January 16, reveals that again the police used mista’arvim, security forces disguised as Arabs, against Jewish residents, despite assurances from the Internal Security Minister that there would be no repeat incidents, and a past court decision highly critical of using the method. See here and here for more information about the Geulat Tzion incident.
The indictment states that two Arab civilians and two undercover Arab policemen arrived at the agricultural area of the Geulat Tzion outpost. After a short period of time five Jewish youths came out, threw stones at them and demanded that they leave the area. At this point additional police forces came out of the ambush and detained four of the Jewish youths.
Three out of the four have already been released to house arrest, and the other is still in remand. On Monday, January 23 the deliberation on their case was postponed until the court studies the investigative material in the case.
Honenu strongly criticizes the use of mista’arvim against Yehuda and Shomron residents, as has been done in Susiya, Kochav HaShachar, Givat Ronen, Havat Har Sinai, Bat Ayin, Havat Gilad, Adei Ad, and elsewhere in the Shilo Bloc region.
In a verdict handed down by the Jerusalem Magistrate Court in December 2015 in a case involving Susiya residents detained under similar circumstances after the Yehuda and Shomron Police sent mista’arvim to approach the community, Judge Hagit Mak-Kalmanovitch ruled that the action had seriously endangered everyone involved with the incident.”
“It is impossible not to wonder at the planning of the operation which endangered the safety and even the lives of the policemen,” wrote Judge Mak-Kalmanovitch in her verdict. “Any slight mishap, unplanned development, or misunderstanding between those involved [in the incident] could have caused an escalation, and the presence of weapons in the hands of the assailants, was liable to compromise the safety of the policemen and everyone involved…” wrote Judge Mak-Kalmanovitch in her verdict.
Honenu Attorney Moshe Pulaski: “It was a staged, dangerous provocation by the police who were attempting to create incidents with the purpose of detaining individuals and distancing them from the area due to the courts’ ruling that there is no prohibition against staying in the area of the Geulat Tzion outpost.
“Even though the use of mista’arvim against residents of Yehdua and Shomron received sharp criticism from the courts, the police continue to use this method which endangers the lives of everyone involved with the incident. I do not want to even think of what was liable to happen if during the incident civilian security personnel or armed civilians who had not been updated about the army exercise, identified armed Arabs-policemen chasing residents.”