Dozens protest death of settler teen in Jerusalem; five arrested
Some protesters hurl rocks at policemen; small demonstrations reported elsewhere in the country
Several dozen people on Saturday night protested in Jerusalem over the death of Ahuvia Sandak, a 16-year-old killed in a car crash last month while fleeing from police, after allegedly throwing rocks at Palestinians.
Some protesters, rallying at the main entrance to the city, hurled rocks at policemen. Five were arrested.
Small protests were reported in other locations throughout the country, without incident.
Sandak, a resident of the Bat Ayin settlement, was fleeing Border Police in a car with three other hilltop youth on December 21 when his 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.
Sandak’s death ignited weeks of near-nightly protests in Jerusalem and the West Bank. Demonstrators threw stones, attacked buses, and blocked major thoroughfares. In turn, police responded forcefully, including apparently beating a protester in one widely circulated clip.
The demonstrations have recently tapered off.
The Justice Ministry’s Police Internal Investigations Department has questioned the officers involved in the incident, but they are seen as unlikely to face criminal charges.