AG said closing case against cops involved in settler teen’s death in car chase
Ahuvia Sandak was killed while fleeing from police, allegedly after throwing rocks at Palestinians; his death has become a rallying cry for nationalist youths
Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit will close the probe against police officers involved in a car chase during which a settler teen died, the Kan public broadcaster reported Sunday
Ahuvia Sandak, 16, was killed in crash while fleeing from police in December 2020, allegedly after throwing rocks at Palestinians. Repeated recent protests over Sandak’s death have escalated into violence and arrests.
The report said that Mandelblit will likely press charges against some or all of the young settlers who were with Sandak in the vehicle, over dangerous driving during the police chase.
A lawyer representing Sandak’s parents called the report upsetting and accused Mandelblit of being part of a cover-up.
“We intend to continue our public and legal battle until those responsible for Ahuvia’s death pay for their actions,” he told Kan.
Far-right MK Itamar Ben Gvir said that if the report was true, it represented a “judgment day for law enforcement and a license to kill hilltop youth.”
Sandak’s death has become a rallying cry for nationalist youths. Protests over the incident have repeatedly escalated into violence and arrests.
Close to 400 youths rioted near the capital’s Chords Bridge in December in a protest marking the anniversary of Sandak’s death.
The activists burned tires and hurled objects, including stones and eggs, at police officers. They disrupted public order, blocked traffic into Jerusalem and blocked the capital’s light rail trains, police said.
At least one officer was sprayed in the face with pepper spray.
Police used riot dispersal means to clear the streets of the rioters.
Sandak, a resident of the Bat Ayin settlement, was fleeing Border Police in a car with three other youths on December 21, 2020, when the car flipped over, killing him.
According to police, Sandak’s group fled from police before losing control of their vehicle. Sandak’s defenders view his death as a police killing; they allege that the police car hit his vehicle from behind, causing it to run off the road.
The Knesset in November voted to investigate the death.
