7-month-old baby dies; family blames police search of their settlement home
Family says officers threw items into playpen where baby was sleeping during their sweep of Givat Ze’ev house; police deny claims, but 4 officers questioned in internal probe
Michael Horovitz is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel
A baby died in the hospital on Wednesday after police carried out what his family said was an aggressive search of their home in the West Bank settlement of Givat Ze’ev.
During the search overnight Tuesday, police pulled several items from around the house and placed them on top of the playpen that the 7-month-old was in, the family told the Ynet news site.
The baby was taken to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in critical condition. Doctors declared him dead on Wednesday morning.
The house search was conducted due to suspicions that the baby’s father had committed fraud.
While police said the family’s version does not fit the timeline of events, the Department of Internal Police Investigations said it launched a probe into the matter and questioned four of the officers who conducted the search.
The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court had ordered the release of the father from custody so that he could be at his child’s side at the hospital.
The Times of Israel Community.