Damaged scooter
Border Policemen who damaged a civilian's scooter suspended
The two Border Police officers who were filmed damaging an Old City resident's scooter have been suspended from their unit following a Police Internal Investigations Department investigation.
The two Border Police officers who were filmed damaging a scooter in Jerusalem's Old City last week have been suspended from their unit. This week, they were questioned under caution by the Ministry of Justice's Police Internal Investigations Department and released on limiting terms.
The investigation came after footage appeared to show two Border Police officers striking a scooter and breaking its mirrors. The Jerusalem District Commander of the Israel Police, Yoram Halevy, ordered that the scooter's owner, Kamal Jamal, be compensated for damages, depending on the results of the PIID investigation.
Broken windows
Najib Jamal, the brother of the scooter's owner, Kamal Jamal, told Ynet, "There were incidents in our area. They pounded on the door of our house, made a whole mess and started breaking the scooter with a rod." He didn't file a complaint with the PID because "I don't believe that it'll help."
The footage
The organization Ir Amim ("city of nations"), an organization that seeks "to render Jerusalem a more equitable and sustainable city for the Israelis and Palestinians who share it," complimented the decision: "We welcome the steps taken against the officers."
However, the organization emphasized "that eliminating the trend of police violence directed at residents of east Jerusalem will only be possible with a police change in perception that maintaining security in Jerusalem should also include maintaining the well-being, property and dignity of its Palestinian residents."
