AG to charge MK Cassif for striking police officer in May 2022
Jewish lawmaker in mostly Arab Hadash-Ta’al party to be indicted for aggravated assault over incident when security forces prevented him from reaching West Bank protest
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Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara will charge a lawmaker from the Arab-majority Hadas-Ta’al party with assault for hitting a police officer last year, Hebrew media reported Tuesday.
In May 2022, MK Ofer Cassif, then part of the Joint List, was caught on camera striking the officer lightly on the head after security forces blocked his vehicle from reaching a protest in the West Bank.
Baharav-Miara has accepted the position of the state prosecutor and police after an investigation and will indict Cassif for aggravated assault, according to a Kan news report.
Cassif denied he hit the officer, claiming that the camera angle only made it appear as such.
Police rejected the argument, and are said to be in possession of additional evidence backing their case.
Daniel Haklai, Cassif’s lawyer, stated the defense accepts Baharav-Miara’s decision but is preparing to fight the claim in court.
בינתיים בדרום הר חברון – עימות פיזי בין שוטרים לח"כ עופר כסיף, לאחר שמנעו ממנו לעבור
התיעוד המלא עכשיו ב @kann_news pic.twitter.com/PUELJTLz5A— משה שטיינמץ (@moyshis) May 13, 2022
“I hope that we can clarify in court how completely different the reality is than how they are represented in the indictment. I still hope the court will find MK Cassif innocent,” Haklai said.
In a widely circulated video of the incident, a police officer is seen attempting to halt Cassif’s vehicle. Cassif’s car bumps into the officer, who approaches Cassif and shouts at him to move his vehicle away.
“Move your car. You’re not getting in,” the officer shouts. Cassif shouts back: “I didn’t touch you.”
The officer angrily gestures at Cassif while shouting, and appears to touch the MK’s face with his finger. Cassif then strikes the officer on the head and shouts “You hit me in the face!”
Knesset members have parliamentary immunity, which allows them to travel almost everywhere in the country. It was not clear why Cassif — the only Jewish member of the Arab-majority Hadash-Ta’al party — was barred entry from the area, or if the police officers knew who he was.
Cassif was attempting to reach a protest at Masafer Yatta — or Firing Zone 918 — an agriculture area near Hebron in the West Bank. The High Court of Israel ruled last year in favor of evicting over 1,000 Palestinians from the land in a controversial case, one of Israel’s longest-running legal battles.
Under a 2005 change to the Knesset immunity law, members of the legislature no longer receive automatic immunity from prosecution but must request it from the plenum when relevant. Once charges are filed against Cassif, the MK can ask the Knesset House Committee to grant him immunity from prosecution, which would then need to be ratified by the Knesset.
Cassif is known for his outspoken politics and getting into heated arguments with other Jewish Knesset members.
In 2021, police beat Cassif during a protest in East Jerusalem, drawing condemnation from lawmakers across the political spectrum.
The Times of Israel Community.