MPCID

Subhiyeh Abu Rahmeh cries near the memorial monument for her son, Bassem, who in a 2009 protest was shot and killed with a high-velocity tear gas canister fired by an Israeli soldier, Bil'in, West Bank, October 4, 2013. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

No justice for Bil’in Palestinian activist shot dead by Israeli soldier

Nearly a decade after an Israeli soldier killed Bassem Abu Rahmeh while he was nonviolently protesting in Bil’in, Israel’s High Court decides once and for all that his killer will never see the inside of a courtroom. More than nine years after an Israeli soldier killed Palestinian activist Bassem Abu Rahmeh at a protest in…

By Henriette Chacar September 18, 2018

Israeli border police check the ID of a Palestinian man (File photo by Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org)

When an Israeli assaults a Palestinian, justice is hard to come by

A story of assault in Hebron perfectly exemplifies how police investigations fail when the victim is Palestinian. By Yesh Din, written by Yossi Gurvitz More than five years ago, on July 16, 2010, a young Hebronite by the name of Muhammad Abd Al-Raouf Abdrazeq was attacked by two Israeli civilians without any reason. In his…

By +972 Magazine January 9, 2016

An Israeli soldier aims a rifle loaded with rubber-coated steel bullets during clashes in Aida Refugee Camp in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, November 29, 2013. This day's clashes followed several days of confrontations after the killing of three Palestinian militants by Israeli forces in Yatta. (photo: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org)

The army prefers to indict soldiers who loot — not those who kill

Why does the the IDF indict soldiers far more often for property-related crimes, while closing cases in which soldiers are suspected of wounding or killing Palestinians? By Yossi Gurvitz, written for Yesh Din In 2014, a total of 15 Israeli soldiers were indicted for harming Palestinians, as can be seen by our latest data sheet…

By +972 Magazine December 15, 2015

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Israeli soldiers stand in front of the West Bank settlement of Beitar Illit, which was partially built on expropriated land belonging to the Palestinian village of Wadi Fukin, West Bank, September 26, 2014. (Ahmad al-Bazz/Activestills.org)

If only the army could investigate soldiers who harm Palestinians

When it comes to prosecuting its own soldiers, it seems the military investigation system is set up to allow the IDF to dodge accountability. By Yossi Gurvitz, written for Yesh Din Who is in charge of the military investigative system when soldiers harm Palestinians? This turns out to be a rather complex question that the…

By +972 Magazine December 4, 2015

An Israeli soldier warns photographers during clashes following the funeral of Mustafa Tamimi in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, December 11, 2011. (photo: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

The operational logic behind terrorizing Palestinians

Four Israeli soldiers carry out a routine procedure of ‘showing presence’ by throwing a smoke grenade into a Palestinian home. Its real purpose? Terrorizing innocent people. By Yossi Gurvitz for Yesh Din The incident in question, given the daily routine of the occupation, is relatively minor. On December 3rd, 2007, Adnan Abu Haniyeh, a resident of…

By +972 Magazine April 10, 2015

An Israeli soldier fires tear gas toward Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists during a demonstration in Hebron, March 1, 2013. (Photo by Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org)

Four years, one dead Palestinian and a closed investigation

What does an Israeli military investigation of the killing of a Palestinian look like? An utter waste of time. By Yesh Din, written by Yossi Gurvitz On Friday, January 16, 2009, stormy demonstrations took place throughout the West Bank, as Operation Cast Lead was in full force in Gaza. The Israeli media did not report the…

By +972 Magazine January 16, 2015

An Israeli policeman shoots tear gas during a protest following the death of a Muhammad Sunuqrut, in the neighborhood of Wadi Joz in East Jerusalem on September 8, 2014. Muhammad Sunuqrut, 16, was wounded by police gunfire in the Wadi Joz neighborhood on August 31 and died from his injuries on September 7. (photo: Activestills)

Israel’s military prosecution presents: How to whittle away an investigation

A member of Israel’s security forces shot a bullet at Ashraf Muhammad Jamal Tufiq’s foot in 2009. The IDF’s investigatory bodies did their best to make sure they will never find the shooter. By Yesh Din, written by Yossi Gurvitz On Friday, January 16, 2009, someone – a member of the Israeli security forces –…

By +972 Magazine January 6, 2015

Israeli soldiers search a Palestinian at an IDF checkpoint. (photo: Breaking the Silence)

Making sure Israeli soldiers stay above the law

Abusive soldiers evade justice under the aegis of the slow procedures, as well as some creative excuses. By Yossi Gurvitz for Yesh Din Several weeks ago, Yesh Din attorney Emily Schaeffer received responses from the Military Advocate for Operational Affairs Unit (MAOA) regarding two appeals she submitted years ago on behalf of a Palestinian complainant,…

By +972 Magazine May 14, 2014

A Palestinian woman and children pass the slogan "Gas the Arabs! JDL" spray-painted on an exterior wall of the Cordoba School for Palestinian children near Shuhada Street, Hebron, October 22, 2012. "JDL" stands for Jewish Defense League, an extremist group founded by Meir Kahane and designated as a terrorist group by the FBI. Baruch Goldstein was a charter member of the JDL, which has designated him "a martyr in Judaism's protracted struggle against Arab terrorism."

How I got involved in a 14-year-old girl’s murder case

Settlers went to Nibin Jamjum’s home specifically in order to shoot her in the head. All my attempts to bring about the murderer’s arrest have failed. A follow-up to the research of Israeli blogger-journalist “Eishton.” (Translated from Hebrew by Ofer Neiman) Israeli blogger-journalist Eishton brought me back in time to a two-year period in which I was…

By Haggai Matar May 10, 2014

Human rights attorney Emily Schaeffer. (photo: Yossi Gurvitz)

‘Protecting Palestinians isn’t part of Israel’s ethos’

Yossi Gurvitz talks to Atty. Emily Schaeffer, coordinator of Yesh Din’s criminal accountability of Israeli security forces project, about work, how the IDF investigates its own, the negligible prosecution rate for killing Palestinians, as well as veganism, ‘Tikkun Olam’ and Passover. By Yossi Gurvitz for Yesh Din Two weeks ago I met with Emily Schaeffer,…

By +972 Magazine April 30, 2014

Illustrative photo of an Israeli soldier aiming his weapon at Palestinian protesters. (Photo: Anne Paq/Activestills.org)

When shooting a 14-year-old boy in the neck is a minor infraction

Firing live ammunition at civilians is a crime, more so when minors are involved. Such an incident should not end with a disciplinary procedure but with a criminal investigation. That is not what happened. By Yesh Din, written by Yossi Gurvitz At the end of last July, J., a boy from the village of Silwad,…

By +972 Magazine March 2, 2014

Illustrative photo of an IDF sharpshooter aiming his weapon (Photo by ChameleonsEye / Shutterstock.com)

Four bullets to the back of the head

An IDF sharpshooter fired four bullets to the back of Jalal Mahmoud Masri’s head and killed him. The army’s investigators closed the case. By Yesh Din, written by Yossi Gurvitz “The soldier will act in an intelligent and secure manner in all his actions, acknowledging the supreme importance of human life […] the soldier will…

By +972 Magazine February 2, 2014

Two Palestinian boys age 14 and 15 hold a poster with their own photos on it with Arabic writing that reads: “We are the army. Be careful, we will arrest you if we see you, or come to your home.” The poster was posted on the village walls and near one of the boy's houses by Israeli soldiers during an army raid on the village on the night of May 31, 2013. (Photo by: Shiraz Grinbaum/Activestills.org)

Military police must decide: Is the IDF a gang or an army?

Youth from the village of Qaddum were shocked to find themselves featured on a threatening IDF poster. Will the army severely punish those responsible? By Yesh Din, written by Yossi Gurvitz About two weeks ago, several youth from the village of Qaddum were shocked to discover their photos and names appear on a placard posted…

By +972 Magazine June 21, 2013