From the Liveblog of
Monday, June 10, 2024
Border cops indicted for grenade attack on Palestinian who partially lost eyesight
Jeremy Sharon is The Times of Israel’s legal affairs and settlements reporter
The Department of Internal Police Investigations (DIPI) indicts two Border Police officers for attacking a Palestinian civilian with grenades “without any reason,” which resulted in the individual losing his sight in one eye, among other injuries.
The incident occurred in the northern West Bank on January 2, 2023, during the course of a combined IDF and Border Police operation.
At the end of the operation, a convoy of military and police vehicles was making its way back to base while the two officers in question were riding in an armored jeep, states the indictment, which has been filed to the Haifa Magistrate’s Court.
“At the same time, the complainant was standing next to his vehicle on the side of the road with others. The complainant was leaning on the side of his vehicle, smoking a cigarette, and watching the convoy go by,” the indictment reads.
“A few moments later, indictee number two opened the vehicle door and held it [open] with his hands and feet in order to enable the throwing of the grenades toward the complainant. Two grenades were thrown from the vehicle, one by indictee number one and the other grenade by an additional [third] police officer, whose identity is unknown to the prosecutor, without any justification.”
The victim of the attack lost sight in his left eye and was injured in his left hand as a result.
The two indicted Border Police officers, whose identities are banned from publication, are charged with one count of an act of recklessness and negligence.
