Adalah’s News

October 8, 2021

Commemorating the October 2000 Killings amid Ongoing Police Brutality

• Read Adalah’s Statement on October 2000
• Learn more about the October 2000 Killings

Israel recruits undercover paramilitary unit and Shin Bet to fight crime in Arab towns

Israel’s perception of Palestinian citizens as enemies is still used to justify racist acts by the police. A recent example is the establishment of a designated paramilitary unit directed specifically at Palestinian citizens living in Palestinian towns in Israel, on the basis of their national belonging, the “Mista’aravim” unit, supposedly aimed at fighting crime within these localities.

Adalah: “The decision to establish an undercover paramilitary unit that operates solely within Palestinian towns and villages in Israel is racist and equates to racial profiling, as it targets a specific ethnic group, in blatant violation of the principle of equality. The move illegally produces two separate law enforcement systems: one for Jewish Israelis and one for Palestinian citizens of Israel. Further, recruiting the Shin Bet intelligence agency and granting it additional powers to operate in Arab towns proves once again that Israel views its Palestinian citizens as a security problem; from here it is a very short road to repression and the violation of basic rights. The deployment of the Shin Bet and paramilitary undercover units, known to use extreme violence against Palestinian protestors, stems from the Israeli state’s enduring perception of ‘the Arabs as an enemy’, and will turn Palestinian towns and villages into battlefields.”

• Keep reading about the Mista’aravim unit     
• Keep reading about Israel recruiting the Shin Bet   

AG to Acre Municipality: Blocking access of Palestinians to beaches and other public areas is illegal

The same view of ‘the Arabs as an enemy’ allows state and local authorities to employ practices of racial segregation, for example by restricting access of Palestinians to public beaches and other public spaces. In Israel, such measures of racial profiling are being repeated with more frequency lately in multiple cities. 

Adalah: “Erecting barriers and checkpoints in Acre (Akka/ Akko) with the explicit aim of preventing entrance of Palestinians from the West Bank into the city’s shores under the pretext of COVID-19 public health restrictions is racist. Denying people access to public spaces on a racist basis is an emergent phenomenon in other Israeli cities, too, part of a range of ‘local apartheid initiatives’ that aims to achieve racial segregation. Inspectors of Acre Municipality banned Palestinians from the town’s beaches, including those who were vaccinated and had valid entry and stay permits in Israel. The disturbing video footage shows the inspectors forcibly expelling Palestinians beyond the city limits solely because they were Palestinians. These measures recall a similar case in which the Municipality of Afula prevented Palestinian citizens of Israel from entering a public park in the city in 2019. In that case, the Nazareth District Court determined, following Adalah’s appeal, that local authorities are prohibited by law to restrict access to public, open spaces such as beaches or parks.”

• Keep reading about Israeli Municipalities blocking access to beaches 
• Keep reading about the AG’s response    

Israeli Supreme Court allows the military to continue to withhold Erekat’s body

Israel continues to disregard even the most basic rights and dignity of Palestinians, as evidenced by a recent decision by the Israeli Supreme Court approving the military’s continued hold of Ahmad Erekat’s deceased body. Erekat, a 27-year old man, was shot and killed by Israeli Border Police at the “Container” checkpoint in Abu Dis on 23 June 2020, after the car he was driving hit a policewoman at the checkpoint.

Adalah: “The Court’s decision gives a free hand to the military, even without governmental authority, whereas it should protect the dignity of the deceased and the right of his family to bury him. Israel is holding 88 Palestinian bodies as bargaining chips. This practice is inhumane and degrading and amounts to torture, and is prohibited under the International Convention Against Torture; it is also a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.” 

• Keep reading about the Israeli Supreme Court decision
• Read the English translation of the Supreme Court decision