Sheikh Ali claims he was severely beaten during his arrest in the Shuafat refugee camp
Israeli police officers are accused of “branding” the face of a Palestinian with the Star of David during his violent arrest without recording the incident on their body cameras.
The lawsuit brought by lawyers representing 22-year-old Arwa Sheikh Ali has been challenged by Israeli police. , who allege that the mark was «presumably» caused by the pressure of the lace on the arresting officer's boot.
A photograph of Mr. Sheikh Ali, who was arrested on charges of drug possession, shows wounds on his left cheek under the black eye, which resemble the Jewish religious symbol.
Mr. Sheikh Ali's lawyer claimed he was severely beaten by officers before being branded.
The arrest took place in the Shuafat refugee camp in East Jerusalem, where Mr. Sheikh Ali lives, as part of an investigation in a drug case. According to his lawyer, Sheikh Ali denies all criminal charges.
«Misleading and distorted»
Israeli police insist they used reasonable force and said the suspect violently resisted arrest. They also dismissed the claim of the brand as «misleading and misrepresenting.»
Instead, the officers suggested that the patterned lace on the officer's boot was «allegedly» imprinted on the suspect's face as they held him. The police provided Israeli media with a photo of a boot that they said could be the cause of the triangular marks.
This comes after video footage emerged of a separate incident in which Israeli border guards shot an unarmed Palestinian in the back of the head in the occupied West Bank, where violence has escalated over the past 15 months due to frequent Israeli raids, Palestinian street attacks and attacks by Jewish settlers on villages.
Israeli Border Police are investigating graphic footage showing a man falling face down after being hit by a bullet as he walks away from clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces. It was not immediately clear whether the man had survived the attack.
The incident occurred as Israeli forces searched for a Palestinian who earlier this week killed two Israelis, a father and son, in an attack on a car wash in Huwara, a hotspot city in the northern West Bank.
Also this week, an Israeli woman was killed and an Israeli was seriously injured in shelling near the southern West Bank city of Hebron.
An Israeli forensic expert in Jerusalem questioned the police's official explanation for the Star of David incident, although he stressed that he could not definitively refute it.
«Lace cannot leave such an imprint»
Dr. Avner Rosengarten, head of the Israel Institute of Forensic Medicine, told local media: “It looks like the markings were made with a metal tool or tool… firstly, the width of the laces doesn’t fit. Secondly, the laces cannot leave such an imprint, as the edges bleed; it has to be a straight, strong tool.”
He added: “The laces also don't have the pressure and force needed to create that mark because the laces are flexible and soft and stay the same as before. no matter how hard you can put pressure on the shoes.”
The judge referred the case to the internal affairs of the police, as there was no “reasonable explanation” for the lack of a video of the detention, which involved 16 police officers.
Israeli police officers are increasingly wearing body cameras after a series of experimental schemes, but a 2021 report from the country's State Comptroller found that most of them do not turn them on when interacting with citizens.
«Suspect escalated the situation»
Israeli police spokesman said in a statement: «While issuing a search warrant at the home of a suspect in Shufat, law enforcement officials found a significant amount of substances believed to be drugs that go far beyond personal use.»
< p>«At some point, the suspect escalated situation, resorting to violence, physical assault on police officers and violent resistance to arrest,” the spokesman added.
“This required the participation of several police officers for a lawful arrest. man … a notable observation during this incident was an injury on the suspect's face that appeared to be triangular in shape, presumably from a piece of clothing worn by one of the police officers.»
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