Report calls for 6 senior cops to be removed over parade attack

6 September 2015, 7:48 pm

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A final version of an internal police probe into failings that led to a fatal stabbing attack at the Jerusalem Gay Pride Parade on July 30 has been released, and calls for six senior officers to be removed from their posts and another four to be reprimanded.

Among those to be fired over the attack are the heads of the Moriah police substation, the head of the Jerusalem intelligence branch of the police, the head of the operations branch for the area of the parade, the head of intelligence for the Moriah substation, the officer in charge of securing part of the heavily guarded parade route and the head of the coordination division.

One more police officer, who was in charge of guarding the area of the route where the stabbing took place, will also be removed.

Yishai Schlissel attacking people with a knife during a Gay Pride parade in Jerusalem Thursday, July 30, 2015 and inset Shira Banki in a picture dated November 2013 taken from her Facebook page. (AP/Sebastian Scheiner and Facebook) — Yishai Schlissel attacking people with a knife during the Jerusalem Gay Pride Parade on July 30, 2015; (inset) Shira Banki in a photo dated November 2013 taken from her Facebook page. (AP/Sebastian Scheiner; and Facebook)

On July 30, religious zealot Yishai Schlissel was able to reprise a stabbing attack from 10 years earlier just weeks after being released from prison, killing 16-year-old Shira Banki and injuring six others, despite a heavy police presence at the parade.

The report also calls for lighter reprimands to be handed to four more officials, including Jerusalem police chief Chico Edrey, the head of the Zion substation, and two others.

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan says he accepts the report in full.

“The death of Shira Banki and the injuries to the marchers was a severe incident that could have been prevented, and so we need to probe and unfortunately there need to be personal consequences, even if they are unprecedented in scope,” he says in a statement.