The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court recently accepted a lawsuit against the Israel Police and awarded compensation of 17,000 NIS to settlers who were detained for an illegal search in the Gush Etzion Bloc.
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The ruling reveals fundamental failures in police conduct at checkpoints designated to prevent "nationalist crime.".
The incident occurred in October 2020, when the plaintiffs were on their way in their vehicle to the town of Bat Ayin. At the checkpoint, their vehicle was stopped by a police car, and a police officer began questioning them about their place of origin and destination.
After consulting with intelligence sources, it was decided to conduct a body search. The search was conducted by patting down the settlers' bodies, after they had taken off their coats, and their vehicle was also searched.
According to the settlers, the search was illegal, humiliating and offensive. It was conducted without reasonable suspicion of committing a specific crime, but only because of their appearance and previous registration in the police system - things that do not constitute sufficient grounds for a search.
They added that the police officer did not give them the reason for the search, no detention report was prepared, and more.
The police tried to justify the search by saying that one of the passengers was marked in the intelligence systems as a "public order" and another as a "draft absentee," and also by claiming that they had provided conflicting versions of their travel route.
However, Judge Dan Lieberman ruled that there was no "reasonable suspicion" as required by law. The judge clarified that a criminal record or a police record do not constitute legal grounds for a search without additional concrete circumstances.
One of the key points in the ruling was the rejection of the state's argument that the plaintiffs are "practiced" in arrests and searches and therefore the damage caused to them is not significant.
The judge sharply attacked this statement: "The existence of a kind of 'diminishing marginal harm' should not be accepted with regard to the violation of constitutional rights by the Israel Police... The rights of someone who is 'used' to being stopped or searched are no less than the rights of someone who is not 'used' to encounters of this type.".
Beyond the lack of authority to search, the court found that the police violated their basic duties: the settlers were not told that they were being detained, nor was the reason for the search explained to them, even though the incident lasted nearly 30 minutes, a detention report was not legally prepared, and the police refrained from calling the intelligence officials with whom the police officer consulted in the field to testify.
Finally, the judge ruled that the police would compensate the two settlers in a total amount of 12,000 NIS for the emotional distress and violation of their rights. In addition, the state would pay attorney fees and legal expenses in the amount of 5,000 NIS.
Attorney Menashe Yado, who represented the plaintiffs on behalf of Honenu, welcomed: "A just and correct verdict. It is certainly to be hoped that settlement in Judea and Samaria will continue to rise and that all law enforcement authorities will recognize the settlers' contribution to the security of the state and the region.".
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