Police harass family of youth under house arrest

Thursday, March 19, 2020, 15:19 The harassment by the police of the families of youths under administrative house arrest continues. On Wednesday, March 18 policemen arrived at the home of a youth under administrative house arrest in Jerusalem in order to verify that he was not violating the order, at a time he was not required to be at home.
The youth is under an order obligating him to be at his parents’ home only between 23:00 and 6:00. Slightly after 7:00, his father left his house and saw policemen approaching. When he tried to stop them and tell them that according to the order his son was not under house arrest at that hour, they spoke to him rudely.
At this point he took out his cell phone, recorded the incident and answered the policemen, who in response threatened him with detention. The policemen claimed that they had not yet knocked on the family’s door and therefore they could not have been disturbing them. The family said that if the father had not left when he did, then obviously the policemen would have knocked. The family added that the policemen frequently come when their son is not required to be at home, which interrupts their daily routine.
Amit Goren, the father of the youth under house arrest, stated that, “The conduct of the police is very problematic. It cannot be that policemen come time after time to the home of someone under administrative house arrest, harass his family, all that without even knowing the hours he’s supposed be at home. I demand that the police leave me and my family in peace and stop the harassment immediately.”
On Saturday night, after Shabbat, five youths under administrative house arrest reported to police stations throughout Israel and informed the police that they are no longer able to remain at their parents’ homes at night because of the repeated harassment by policemen verifying compliance with their orders. The five youths have been placed under house arrest at their parents’ homes at night by order of the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the relevant Command. The parents were not asked for their consent, even though none of the five youths are living at their parents’ homes.
Honenu intends to file a complaint against the policemen and to file suits for harassment. Shmuel (Zangi) Meidad: “It is very sad that at a time of emergency and danger such as this, when almost everything has ground to a halt, and we are searching for ways to strengthen each other, the State continues, by means of the police and the GSS, to hold Jewish youths under cruel administrative orders which bypass the courts, eliminating the need to prove anything. This situation is enraging under normal circumstances, and even more so during these turbulent times. Large families, with older parents, are woken up every night, at the small hours of the night, by policemen disregarding the orders of the Ministry of Health. And they don’t even know what they are looking for. We expect different conduct from the State.”