On 13 June 2021, the Israeli Knesset narrowly voted (60-59) to confirm a new coalition government led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid. The inauguration of the new government marks the end of, or at least an interlude in, the Netanyahu era after 12 years, the last two of which have been marked by political turbulence, with four elections in rapid succession.
The swearing in of the new government comes immediately after the recent round of deadly violence in Israel and the OPT in May 2021. While the violence in Israel has largely abated for now, none of the root causes have been resolved.
One of the critical tasks that now falls to the new government, including the new Minister of Internal Security, responsible for the police, the new Minister of Justice and the Attorney General, is to root out police brutality against Palestinian citizens of Israel, including protestors, and to hold those responsible to account. The new government must show itself to be willing and able to end mass arrests and detentions of Palestinians, tackle escalating violence within Palestinian towns and villages in Israel, and investigate the failure of the police to protect Palestinian citizens of Israel and their property from attacks by ultra-right-wing Jewish Israelis, including settlers, and even police collusion with these violent groups. In short, it must bring an end to discriminatory policing and police violence against Palestinian citizens and impunity for the perpetrators.
Over the coming months, Adalah will continue to provide legal advice and assistance to those detained and/or indicted, in close coordination with the High Follow-up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel, volunteer lawyers and local lawyers’ committees. Adalah will provide legal representation in some cases entailing blatant violations of freedoms of expression, such as that of religious leader Sheikh Kamal al-Khatib. In parallel, Adalah will file complaints of police violence against protestors and by-standers to the Police Investigations Department (Mahash), and demand investigations and prosecutions of those responsible. Notably, few Jewish Israelis responsible for harming Palestinian citizens or their properties have been arrested or indicted, a fact that raises serious concerns of selective prosecution that Adalah will monitor closely.
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