Wednesday, May 8, 21:37 During the annual Jerusalem Day Flag-Dance Parade in Jerusalem on Wednesday, May 8 undercover policemen who were mingling with the participants suddenly jumped out of the crowd, beat several youths, all of them minors, and detained them on a charge of shouting racist calls. During the disturbance caused by the detention, Arabs on the scene also started to beat Jews participating in the parade. Honenu: The police continues the reprehensible policy of provocation by undercover policemen.
This year, as every year, on Jerusalem Day thousands of youth participated in the traditional Jerusalem Day Flag-Dance Parade which takes place throughout the city, ending in the Old City at the Western Wall Plaza. Many members of Zionist youth groups from all over Israel celebrate the reunification of the Old City of Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount, with the rest of the city. As always, hundreds of policemen and border police secured the event. However, in addition to regular police, undercover policemen were situated among the participants throughout the entire length of the parade, mingling with the youth and the adults participating in the parade. As the parade approached the Old City several points of friction developed between participants and Arabs who gathered close to the parade and shouted insults at the participants and also attempted to assault them in several incidents. Some of the parade participants shouted back at the Arabs. At some point, near Sha’ar Shechem (Damascus Gate) several undercover policemen jumped out at a group of Jewish youths who had shouted back at the Arabs. The police beat the youths and detained four of them. At the site, a disturbance developed which included violence on the part of a group of Arabs who had earlier shouted insults.
The detainees, three minors and one adult, residents of central and northern Israel, were taken to the Kishleh Police Station in the Old City of Jerusalem where they were interrogated. Honenu attorney Adi Kedar is speaking with the detainees and handling their case.
Honenu warns that this is not the first time that the police have used undercover policemen to incriminate right-wing activists and that the policy is dangerous. “In Susiya a provocation by undercover police almost ended in bloodshed due to a foolish act by the police. Even the Minister of Internal Security expressed the opinion that the policy is unacceptable and must not be repeated. Also, last week on the day of the murder of Eviyatar Borovsky, hy”d, the police chose to send undercover detectives dressed as Arabs to the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood of Jerusalem, which caused an incident. Today, on Jerusalem Day, the police chose to harass youth participating in the traditional Jerusalem Day Flag-Dance Parade.
Also last year the Jerusalem Day Flag-Dance Parade was marred by police harassment.