Ex-border guard who beat laughing Palestinian loses appeal
Judges say important to send ‘clear message’ to security services not to harm innocent civilians
Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter
A former Israeli Border Police officer who was convicted of punching a Palestinian for laughing at him had his appeal against the conviction rejected Wednesday by a Jerusalem court.
“Even in a tense and flammable security reality, and perhaps especially so, we have to convey a clear message to police officers serving right at the forefront to take care not to unnecessarily harm innocent civilians,” the Jerusalem District Court judges ruled, the Ynet news reported.
According to a charge sheet from December 2013, the border policeman was guarding a man who had been pulled over for a security check at a Hebron checkpoint. A city resident, Abed Krakneh, came by and began laughing at the border guard, who responded by punching Krakneh in the face several times.
A family court subsequently convicted the border guard and sentenced him to 200 hours of community service, a three-month suspended sentence, and compensation to be paid to Krakneh.
During the appeal Wednesday, the guard’s lawyer Nir Schneiderman asked the court to quash the conviction on the grounds that Krakneh did not sustain physical injury, while the guard had finished his compulsory military service with distinction and had no criminal background, and a conviction would harm his professional future.
The judges, chaired by Rafi Carmel, rejected the appeal unanimously. “At issue is a specific event, which developed without advance planning, against the background of a tense and flammable security reality, when the appellant was only 19 years old,” they acknowledged. The probation service had found the appellant to be a normative individual, without any criminal behavior traits.
Following the incident, the policeman had been transferred from military duty to a position in army logistics, causing him a crisis and constituting in his eyes punishment for what he had done, they added. The appellant tried to return to a combat position, which was to his credit.
Despite this, the judges decided to let the conviction stand to send a clear message to the rest of the security services. “At issue is someone who served as a policeman at a checkpoint in Hebron and punched a passerby several times only because he laughed at him,” they said.
Yifat Ben Ami, a lawyer for the prosecution, said the border guard only stopped punching the Palestinian when another border guard intervened. Incidents like this harmed Israel and the Israel Police, she said.
