Damage caused by arson at Havat Gilad
Photo courtesy of Shomron Regional Council
Palestinians complain of unequal treatment by police
West Bank residents detained for three days on suspicion of setting fire to settlers' property say police ignoring their complaints on acts of harassment by settlers
Palestinians living in the West Bank say they are being arrested for no apparent reason following settlers' complaints, while their own complaints are completely ignored.
Sidik Bari, 65, of the village of Umm al-Tin, spent the last three days in detention on suspicion of being involved in setting fire to settlers' property at the Havat Gilad outpost. On Wednesday he was released without being charged.
"When we file complaints no one is arrested, but we were arrested," he claims.
On Sunday Bari noticed a fire raging near his land, which borders on Havat Gilad, while he was on his way back from visiting his daughter. "I hurried home, called my sons and nephews, and we went to put out the fire," he told Ynet after being released.
When he arrived at the place he discovered that the wind had blown the fire towards the settlers' houses. "Thanks to Allah and his wisdom and the reward he gave the igniters, the fire almost didn't spread into my land. I had a camera on me supplied by the B'Tselem organization, and I began documenting the incident."
About 15 minutes later, the family members returned to the village and ran into a military vehicle, which began firing at them. "The soldier told me, 'Stop or we'll shoot you.' I opened my shirt down to my chest and told him, 'Shoot me, I'm not afraid, but what have I done to make you shoot me?'"
He said the soldiers had shown him a pack of cigarettes belonging to one of his nephews, as evidence that they were involved in the arson. "I asked him, 'Is this the evidence you are arresting us for? We are not denying being on the land and I even photographed what happened. Are you arresting us for being on our land?'"
Bari and three of his nephews were taken to the Kedumim Police, where they were held for about four hours. "They then took us to the Ariel Police, to the investigator with whom I file complaints against the settlers' activities. Of course no one was ever arrested following our complaints, but we were arrested."
He showed the investigator the photos he had taken on the ground, but to no avail, and the four placed under detention at the Hawara camp.
'Can't remember one settler arrested'
Three days later, they were arrested without being indicted. The police said that the incident was still being investigated.
"The humiliation I experienced there in terms of the detention conditions was a type of humiliation I have never experienced in the past," Bari said. "I am considering suing those who arrested me for forcing me to spend all three days of the holiday in detention."
Zakaria Sada, a coordinator at the Rabbis for Human Rights organization, recalls how two years ago he too was arrested following a similar complaint. "I was detained for several days, despite dozens of complaints I had filed on behalf of Palestinian farmers whose lands were set on fire, and I don’t remember seeing one settler arrested," he said.
According to Sada, this points to the security forces' unequal treatment of Palestinians and settlers.
"The problem with these complaints is that they are groundless and that the settlers are complaining about incidents they themselves are responsible for – only the fire they set damages their own property," he claims.
Efrat Weiss contributed to this report
