Police arrest scapegoat?

Shai District police arrest four Hilltop Youth who tried to set up illegal outpost, along with a four-legged companion named Geula, which was released only after teens promise not to bring it back to hills

Yair Altman|Published: 11.06.11 , 21:12

The Shai District police are accustomed to playing cat and mouse games with Hilltop Youth who repeatedly try to set up illegal outposts in the West Bank.

However, on Sunday, after arresting four teens who entered a closed military area with the intention of resettling the Ramat Migron outpost, officers were surprised to discover a new resident roaming the hills along with them – a goat named Geula.

Surprise Arrest

Police go on wild goat chase

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Police go on wild goat chase

The four – three of which are minors – were taken in for investigation at the Binyamin police station, and two were released under limiting conditions. The two others were brought before the court, and the only one to stay behind and spend the entire day at the police station – Geula the goat.

Police officers at the station refused to release the goat until the teens sign a document obligating them to keep the animal away from the outpost. Eventually, it was released without limiting conditions.

"At first the police officers demanded that the goat be released on bail, but later they changed their minds and asked us to sign an obligation not to bring the goat back to the outpost," the 17-year-old owner of Geula told Ynet.

"We didn’t even get a copy of the document we signed, which just goes to show that even the police realized how ridiculous the whole thing is. They wanted someone over the age of 18 to sign the agreement, and I am only 17 – that's why the goat was detained for so many hours after we were already released."

The teen claimed that the incident was an attempt to undermine the agricultural enterprise of Hilltop Youth: "In a place where there is no refrigerator, a goat that produces milk is an essential asset," he noted.

The Shai District police stated in response: "The four were arrested for breaching a closed military zone. One of the teens had a goat in his possession, so the officers decided to bring it along, so it doesn’t stay without its owner.

The police emphasized that the goat was not arrested or detained, but simply brought to the station as the property of one of the detainees.