Border cop convicted of assaulting Palestinian woman gets police certificate of merit
Ben Gvir lauds decision to honor Oriane Ben Kalifa, who was filmed tearing hijab from Hala Salim’s head, choking her; unnamed senior officer says decision ‘harmful to the force’
A border cop convicted of assaulting a Palestinian woman in 2023 has received a police certificate of merit ahead of Independence Day, Hebrew-language media reported Monday.
Oriane Ben Kalifa was found guilty of assault after she was filmed shoving Hala Salim, a Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem, at a checkpoint in the Old City, and pulling the her hijab from her hair, as well as choking and shaking her.
Despite the conviction, Ben Kalifa was allowed to rejoin the Border Police a week after the court’s ruling, in a decision authorized by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and then-police commissioner Kobi Shabtai.
Certificates of merit within the police force are issued to officers annually by higher-ranking cops to mark Independence Day.
The certificate hailed Ben Kalifa as a “highly motivated” police officer who “carries out her role exceptionally with a sense of full dedication, demonstrating responsibility, knowledge, the ability to take control and creativity.”
It was signed by Supt. Haim Amar, who heads the “Rotem” branch in the Border Police’s Internal Security Division, and Cdr. Eli Abutbul, commander of the National Guard in southern Israel.
זוכרים את לוחמת מג״ב אוריאן בן קליפא שהורשעה לפני כשנתיים בתקיפת פלסטינית תוך שהיא חונקת אותה ודוחפת אותה? ביום העצמאות הקרוב – היא תקבל מצטיינת יום העצמאות במשמר הגבול | דיווחנו לראשונה אצל @efitriger pic.twitter.com/MNsBiVwvpx
— שיר ביטון || shir bitton (@shirbitton_) April 28, 2025
According to the Ynet news site, some in the police force opposed the move.
The outlet quoted a senior officer who said that Ben Kalifa is “not worthy” of the certificate and that awarding the certificate to her was “harmful to the force.”
Ben Gvir celebrated the award, saying he had seen firsthand Ben Kalifa’s “motivation, love for the land and strong desire to return to serve and defend the country.”
The minister added that he had personally assisted Ben Kalifa and her family, helping the convicted officer “return and fight with her friends in the Border Police.”
A video clip from 2021 of Ben Kalifa yelling at and manhandling Salim was aired by Channel 13 and shared widely on social media a few months after the fact.
Ben Kalifa was convicted of assault in May 2023 by the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court, with Judge Joya Skappa-Shapiro saying at the time that Ben Kalifa “was quick to respond with force” in what began as a verbal altercation.
The justice added that Ben Kalifa “shoved the complainant several times. There was no authority to use force and the shoves were not only unnecessary but also ignited a more serious violent incident.”
According to court papers, the November 4, 2021, incident happened when Ben Kalifa was stationed at a barrier checkpoint set up at the Lion’s Gate entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem.
Watch: A TV report published by the Israel Channel 13 shows an Israeli police officer violently assaulting a Palestinian girl after kidnapping her in the old city of Jerusalem.
The police officer called Oriane Ben Khalifa, she was accused of attacking pic.twitter.com/hT7YZLdP8u
— Prof. Walid Amer (@DrWalidAmer1) January 26, 2022
Salim, together with her brother, arrived at the barrier and asked to be let through, which Ben Kalifa refused to do.
Salim insisted that she needed to pass and at some point, Ben Kalifa pushed her back. Amid further shoving, a brawl developed and when Salim’s brother became involved, Ben Kalifa grabbed him by his neck and shirt.
Salim then tried to intervene and a physical struggle developed between her and the officer. Ben Kalifa grabbed the woman’s hijab hair covering, pulled it off, grabbed her hair and also hit her in the head and knocked her to the floor. The court found that until that point, Ben Kalifa was using physical force without authority.
Ben Kalifa then tried to lift Salim from the ground to arrest her, but Salim resisted. Other officers arrived and Salim was lifted to her feet, at which point Ben Kalifa pulled her to the nearby police station by her neck and hair.
At the station, the officer roughly shoved Salim into a chair, choked her, shook her, and shouted at her, despite the suspect’s repeated requests that she stop. The court noted that from the moment Salim was raised off the ground outside she no longer resisted arrest and did not try to escape from the police station.
In a report of the incident, Ben Kalifa wrote that Salim had attacked her first, a claim the court deemed false. As a result, Salim was initially detained overnight at the station on suspicion of assaulting an officer.
The Times of Israel Community.