Date: 12 September 2006

www.yesh-din.org/report/englishemail.html

A comprehensive report released this morning by Yesh Din – Volunteers for Human Rights paints a grave picture of systematic failures in law enforcement upon Israeli settlers who violate West Bank Palestinian civilians and their property.

The 148 page-report, A Semblance of Law: Law Enforcement upon Israeli Civilians in the West Bank, is the result of Yesh Din’s ongoing monitoring of the IDF’s and the West Bank police force’s (SJ District Police) functioning in terms of settlers and other Israeli civilians who act violently towards Palestinians. The report exposes the dynamic that leads to the absence of effective law enforcement in regards to Israeli civilians in the West bank who commit offenses against Palestinians. A Semblance of Law documents serious faults in all stages of the law enforcement process – when offenses are committed, IDF soldiers present at the scene show a grave tendency to ignore them; Palestinians face physical and bureaucratic difficulties when they attempt to file complaints; and above all, the investigation stage shows faults in the investigation incidents, failure to implement the required investigatory steps and sometimes and unwillingness to undertake even a cursory investigation.

For the first time, the report exposes in public the failures and flaws in the SJ police’s investigations based on thorough examination of the investigation files. Dozens of investigation files examined reveal repeated flaws in the SJ District investigations including: suspects’ claims of alibis were not verified before closing the file; files were closed close to the date of the filing of the complaint without all necessary actions taken; and files were closed due to “Lack of Evidence” even when there is seemingly sufficient evidence to put suspects on trial.

Other findings include:

* Ninety percent of police investigations of Palestinian complaints ended up in failure. Complaints were lost and investigation files were closed after police could not identify suspects or gather sufficient evidence against suspects.

* Complaints which Palestinians submit against settlers or IDF soldiers “disappear” in the SJ Police or “get lost” in the transfer between the police and the military police.

* Even when IDF soldiers are present at the scene of the crime, they usually do not prevent settler violence against Palestinians and do not arrest the perpetrators.

* Many obstacles are imposed on Palestinians who wish to file a complaint against settlers who violate them or their property: for example, the officer responsible for taking complaints is sometimes not there or refuses to take the complaint and at times the officer requires the Palestinian to submit a number of documents as a condition for taking the complaint.

The report, which includes recommendations for remedying the systematic law enforcement failures in the occupied territories, is published as part of Yesh Din’s comprehensive project which is designated to bring meaningful change in law enforcement upon Israeli civilians in the West Bank.

To view or download the full report in Hebrew, English, or Arabic, go to

www.yesh-din.org/report/englishemail.html

To receive a hard copy of the full report by mail, please send us your mailing address here and indicate the language (English, Hebrew, Arabic) you would like to receive. ***

Yesh Din – Volunteers for Human Rights was founded in March 2005, and since then its volunteers have been working for structural and long-term improvement of the human rights situation in the OPT. The organization collects and disseminates credible and current information on systematic human rights abuses in the OPT; applies public and legal pressure on the state authorities to stop them; and raises public awareness of human rights abuses in the OPT. In order to realize its goals effectively, Yesh Din operates according to a unique model among human rights organizations in Israel. The organization is run and staffed by volunteers and is assisted on a daily basis by a professional staff of lawyers, human rights experts and strategic and communications consultants.

www.yesh-din.org