Amnesty International said, in an expanded report, that the Israeli occupation police committed a range of violations against Palestinians after a "discriminatory repressive" campaign it launched against them, including mass arrests, the use of unlawful force against peaceful demonstrators, and the subjection of detainees to torture and ill-treatment.
The organization added in a report published on its website, that the occupation police failed to protect Palestinians who hold Israeli citizenship from deliberate attacks by settlers against them, despite their announcement of their potential attacks, but the occupation police did not intervene to stop them. "The evidence collected by Amnesty International provides a compelling picture of discrimination and excessive force used by the Israeli police mercilessly against Palestinians in Israel and occupied East Jerusalem," the report quoted Saleh Hegazy, Deputy Middle East and North Africa Director at Amnesty International. "The police have a duty to protect all people living under Israel´s control, whether they are Jews or Palestinians. Instead, it was Palestinians who were the overwhelming majority of those arrested in the police crackdown after violence erupted in mixed neighborhoods," he added. "The few Jewish citizens of Israel who were arrested by the police were treated more leniently. Orthodox Jews continue to organize demonstrations, while Palestinians face repression." The international human rights organization indicated that its researchers contacted 11 witnesses, and its Crisis Evidence Laboratory verified 45 videos and other forms of digital media to document more than 20 cases of Israeli police violations between May 9 and June 12, 2021. Hundreds of Palestinians were injured in that campaign, and a 17-year-old boy was shot dead. The organization noted in a report that "Since May 10, as demonstrations spread to cities where Palestinians live inside Israel, violence has erupted in mixed neighborhoods. Dozens have been injured, and two Jewish citizens of Israel and a Palestinian citizen have been killed. Islamic cemeteries are vandalized. "On May 13, 90 Palestinian-owned cars were destroyed in Haifa, and stones were thrown at Palestinians inside their homes. In East Jerusalem, Israeli settlers continued to violently harass Palestinian residents." In response, on May 24, the Israeli authorities launched an “Operation Law and Order” that primarily targeted Palestinian demonstrators. The Israeli media said that the aim of the operation was to "settling scores" with those involved, and "deterring" further protests. The organization quotes the Musawah Center, a Palestinian organization for the defense of human rights, that by June 10, the Israeli police had arrested more than 2,150 people - more than 90 percent of whom were Palestinians with Israeli citizenship in Israel or residents of East Jerusalem. The organization stated that 184 indictments were filed against 285 defendants. According to Adalah, another human rights advocacy group, a representative of the Public Prosecution Office said on May 27 that only 30 Jewish Israeli citizens were among those charged. It is noteworthy that the majority of Palestinian detainees were detained for offenses such as “insulting or assaulting a policeman,” or “participating in an illegal gathering,” and not for violent attacks on people or property, according to the Higher Follow-up Committee for Arabs in Israel. Saleh Hijazi added, "This discriminatory campaign of repression was orchestrated as an act of revenge and intimidation in order to crush the pro-Palestinian demonstrations, and to silence those who speak out against the institutional discrimination and systematic oppression practiced by Israel against the Palestinians." Amnesty International has documented the Israeli police´s use of excessive and unnecessary force to disperse Palestinian protests against forced evictions in East Jerusalem, as well as in the attack on Gaza. She points out that, on the contrary, fanatical Jews continue to organize demonstrations as they like. On June 15, thousands of settlers and Jewish fanatics marched provocatively through Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. Witness accounts and verified video clips confirm that at a demonstration on May 9 in the German colony of Haifa (northern occupied Palestine in 1948) a group of about 50 demonstrators were protesting peacefully when armed police assaulted them, without provocation, and beat a number of who are they. On May 12, she added, Muhammad Mahmoud Kiwan - a 17-year-old boy - was shot in the head near the city of Umm al-Fahm (northern occupied Palestine in 1948), and died a week later. On the same day, the occupation police violently dispersed a peaceful demonstration of about 40 people in St. Mary´s Well Square in the city of Nazareth (northern occupied Palestine in 1948), without any prior warning, and physically assaulted the protesters, according to Amnesty International. Her father, Muhammad, told Amnesty International that her vertebrae had been shattered, and that doctors did not know if she would walk again. A verified video shows Jana Kiswani falling to the ground when she was shot from behind. Another verified video shows an Israeli policeman being fired from an IWGL40 single-barrel grenade towards a person outside the screen, followed by a screaming sound. And Amnesty International continues its report, that on May 12, the Israeli police shot Ibrahim al-Suri in the face while he was using his mobile phone to photograph the police who were on patrol in the street from the balcony of his house in Jaffa (central occupied Palestine in 1948). In a verified video, a police officer can be heard saying, "What is he carrying?" Ibrahim al-Suri exclaims in response, "I´m filming, isn´t that allowed? Shoot! Everything is recorded!" Later he told Amnesty International, "I didn´t really think they would shoot! I thought I had rights, that I was safe, in a democratic country." The photos reviewed by Amnesty International´s forensic doctor and medical reports indicate that he was most likely hit by a 40mm "kinetic impact projectile" bullet, which broke the bones in his face. Amnesty International also documented torture at the Russian Complex (Al-Maskubiya) police station in the city of Nazareth on 12 May. An eyewitness said that he witnessed special forces beating a group of at least eight bound detainees who were arrested during a demonstration. The eyewitness said, "It was like a brutal prisoner of war camp. The policemen were beating the young men with broomsticks and kicking them with steel-rimmed military boots. Four of them had to be taken by ambulance for treatment, and one of them had a broken arm." The lawyer for Ziad Taha, another protester who was detained at the Kishon detention center near Haifa on May 14, said his client was chained by his wrists and ankles to a chair and deprived of sleep for nine days. The Amnesty International report confirms the failure of the occupation police to protect Palestinians from organized attacks by armed groups of fanatic Jews, whose plans are often announced in advance. Amnesty International verified 29 text and audio messages from open Telegram and WhatsApp channels, revealing how these two apps were used between May 10 and 21 to recruit armed men and organize attacks on Palestinians in mixed cities. Jews and Arabs, Kahifa, Acre, Nazareth, and Lydda. These letters included instructions regarding the place and time of assembly, the types of weapons to be used, and even the clothes to be worn so as not to confuse Jews of Middle Eastern origin with Palestinian Arabs. Members of the group have shared photos they have taken of themselves carrying weapons and messages such as: "Tonight we are not Jews, we are Nazis." On May 12, hundreds of fanatical Jews gathered in a park in Bat Yam (central occupied Palestine in 1948) in response to messages sent by the political party "Jewish Power" and other groups. Verified videos show dozens of these activists attacking Arab-owned businesses and encouraging the attackers. Among those beaten was Saeed Musa, who was also run over by Jewish assailants with a motorcycle. Only six Israelis face prosecution for that attack. Politicians and government officials have also incited violence. On 11 May, riots broke out after Jewish Power MK Itamar Ben Gvir rallied her supporters to come to Lod and other cities and called for stone-throwers to be shot. A day before, Musa Hassuna was shot dead by an Israeli Jewish settler in the city of Lod during violence between residents of mixed neighborhoods. A video clip shows that he was shot while he was near a group of Palestinians throwing stones. His father blamed the city´s mayor, Yair Revivo, for "inviting extremists to carry out this thuggery," referring to a statement in which the mayor described what is happening in Lod as a massacre against Jews. Four suspects were arrested in connection with the killing, but were released on bail three days later. Israel´s Public Security Minister, Amir Ohana, has publicly condemned the arrests, calling them "terrible." In an illustrative example of discrimination, Kamal al-Khatib, the deputy leader of the Northern Islamic Movement, was arrested on 14 May and accused of inciting violence and supporting a terrorist organization for comments he made publicly; In which he expressed his pride in solidarity with the people of Gaza and East Jerusalem. He said that changes in the status of the holy sites in the city of Jerusalem led to the outbreak of violence between Palestinians and Jews. “The repeated failure of the Israeli police to protect Palestinians from organized attacks by ultra-orthodox groups, and the lack of accountability for such attacks, is shameful and demonstrates the authorities’ contempt for Palestinian lives,” said Molly Malekar, Director of Amnesty International. Allowing Jewish citizens of Israel, including prominent figures, to publicly incite violence against Palestinians without accountability, highlights the extent to which the institutional discrimination Palestinians face and the urgent need for protection.
Discriminatory crackdown
Unlawful use of force against protesters
The Israeli police also used illegal force in occupied East Jerusalem. On May 18, police shot 15-year-old Jana Kiswani in the back as she entered her home in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. A few hours earlier, there had been a protest in front of her family´s home.
violence and torture
Failure to protect Palestinians
