Israeli Police Escape Prosecution for Trashing Palestinian Girl’s Bicycle
— The Israeli Border Police officers filmed taking away a Palestinian girl’s bicycle will not face criminal prosecution.
The conduct of the officers, who were filmed in July by the human rights group B’tselem tossing the bike in bushes, was “inappropriate and unprofessional,” the Justice Ministry’s Police Investigations Department said Monday, according to The Times of Israel. But the department found that the actions did not justify criminal prosecution.
The department said the case will be moved to the Israel Police’s disciplinary board for further review, the Times of Israel reported.
The video, shot on July 25 and posted to YouTube in early August, has been viewed online more than 240,000 times. It shows an officer approaching 8-year-old Anwar Burqan on a street in Hebron before the girl jumps off her bike and runs away in tears. A second officer is then seen dumping the bike in some nearby bushes.
Attorneys for the officers said the officers told investigators they had taken the bike from the girl to protect her. One of the officers was suspended from duty after the video became public.
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