Israeli border police indicted on charges of beating Arabs

JERUSALEM, Nov. 24 (JTA) – Six Israeli border policemen were indicted this week on charges of beating Palestinians. At the Jerusalem Magistrates Court, David Ben Abu and Tsachi Shmaya were charged with aggravated assault and abuse of power. The judge extended their detention and was to rule later on whether to place them under house arrest or hold them until the end of legal proceedings. The incident, which occurred several weeks ago, was recorded on video by a Palestinian who happened to be nearby. The video was broadcast worldwide last week. The tape showed scenes of the two soldiers kicking and beating six Palestinians who had attempted to enter Israel at a roadblock in northern Jerusalem without work permits. Yisrael Sadan, the commander of the border police, has acknowledged that Palestinians had submitted complaints of beatings by border police and that the incident involving Ben Abu and Shmaya was not the worst. In another case, four border police were charged with aggravated assault and abuse of power in an incident that occurred five months ago. According to the charge sheet, Eran Aldi of Arad, Benny Deri of Kiryat Bialik, Asaf Shahar of Tirat Carmel and Meir Elbaz of Kiryat Ata, were on patrol in the Jerusalem area when they detained a Hebron resident who was in Israel without a permit. They covered his head and drove him to the Ramot forest on the outskirts of Jerusalem, where they beat him unconscious. A passerby later found the Palestinian, and helped him receive medical care. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority plans to give video cameras to Palestinians living near Israeli checkpoints to help them document any abuse by Israel Defense Force troops, a top Palestinian adviser said. In another recent incident, border police at a roadblock in southern Jerusalem were attacked by 10 Palestinians. Police said the Palestinians, who were apparently drunk, became violent when the border police asked to see identification papers.