Police ordered to reveal Amona evacuation procedures

Following claim for punitive damages, court instructs police to provide names of officers who took part in violent evacuation of illegal West Bank outpost, state whether explicit order was issued to use truncheons against protestors

Efrat Weiss
Published: 08.24.08, 08:37 / Israel News

The police will be forced to reveal information regarding the orders given to security forces during the violent evacuation of the illegal West Bank outpost of Amona about two and a half years ago, following a claim for punitive damages filed by a youth injured during the evacuation.

Judge Anat Ziner of the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court accepted an appealed filed by the Yesha Human Rights Organization and instructed the police to provide answers to questions regarding the procedures set before the evacuation within 30 days.

Violence

Woman injured in Amona sues police / Efrat Weiss

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The police will have to state who allowed the forces to use truncheons and what method was used for the division of labor and authorities between the different teams on the ground.

During the evacuation, many settlers and demonstrators were injured in clashes which erupted in the area. Following the incident, a commission of inquiry was appointed to examine the forces' conduct and to check whether the firm evacuation was a spontaneous act by the police forces or whether it was dictated by higher ranks.

Police officers indicted or sued in claims for punitive damages following the Amona events claimed that they had acted according to orders and commands received, but many questions probed by the committee remained unanswered.

The court decided to demand that the police provide information on the procedures following a lawsuit filed by a youth who was seriously injured in the head after being beaten with a bat by a mounted policeman during the evacuation.

'Injury cannot be separated from procedures'

According to the statement of claim, the boy was hit in the head by a mounted policeman and collapsed on the ground. According to the youth, other police officers in the area continued to beat even after he fell to the ground.

He was rushed to the hospital, and suffered for months from an infection in his arm, a meniscus tear in his knee, headaches, dizziness, anxieties and fears.

The statement of claim also reveals that the boy's ability to concentrate was also harmed and that a significant drop was recorded in his grades at school.

In the past, the youth filed a complaint with the Police Investigation Unit, but the case was closed due to an "unknown criminal". He then decided to file a claim for damages against the police with the assistance of the Yesha Human Rights Organization.

The judge ruled that the specific injury of the youth and the management of the entire incident by the police cannot be separated, from the briefings to the orders issued during the evacuation.

She therefore instructed the police to provide information, including the names of the officers who took part in the operation and the orders issued by senior commanders to the officers on the ground.

The judge also ruled that the police must provide the explicit name of the element who issued the orders and state whether instructions were given to use truncheons and horses against the protestors.

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