Arabs attacked ultra-Orthodox youths in Jerusalem - police closed the complaint within a day

June 1, 2021   

Three young boys were attacked by dozens of Arab rioters near the Tomb of Shimon the Righteous in Jerusalem. The rioters blocked their path, sprayed them with gas, beat them, and stole their bicycles. The boys filed a complaint with the police, but were surprised to discover that the police closed the case in less than 24 hours. The reason: "There is no evidentiary basis for the existence of a criminal charge." The attack occurred in the midst of Operation Guardian of the Walls, as they returned from praying at the Tomb of Shimon the Righteous. In a letter sent by Attorney Haim Bleicher of the Honenu organization to the Shalem police requesting an appeal against the closure of the case, it was stated that the boys were attacked by dozens of rioters who blocked their path. Rioters from within the group began to attack "while knocking them off their bicycles, emptying entire gas canisters on them, kicking and punching them while they tried to escape and rolling on the floor." The boys fled toward a police station that was on site, and their bicycles were stolen. One of the boys, 15, was even taken to Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus by ambulance. After recovering from the trauma, the injured man filed a police complaint. However, "to his great surprise the next morning, he received an update from the National Transportation Safety Board that the case had been closed because "no evidence was found to establish the existence of criminal guilt." Attorney Bleicher described: "This was a brutal attack in which dozens of people took part against three defenseless young boys. It would be appropriate for the Israel Police to invest resources and effort to arrest and prosecute at least some of the attackers, and to serve as a support and a defense address for young boys." "Closing the case in less than 24 hours shows disdain for the victims and their claims, and indicates a lack of real effort to fully investigate the incident," Attorney Bleicher criticized the police, and asked to receive the investigation materials in the case in order to get an impression of the investigative actions that were carried out in it, "if at all," in order to consider filing an appeal against its closure. Attorney Haim Bleicher, who represents the boy on behalf of Honenu: "My client and his friends went through a shocking lynching at the hands of many terrorists and it will take them a long time to recover from it. Unfortunately, my client experienced another shock when it became clear to him that the attack case was closed due to the lack of evidentiary basis for criminal charges. This is recklessness by any measure. "We demand that the police conduct a comprehensive and immediate investigation using all means and in cooperation with the intelligence agencies to lay their hands on the terrorists who carried out the brutal lynching of the children.""