Police Internal Affairs (Mahash) questioned the officer under caution after footage from last night showed him blocking a vehicle's door and throwing a stun grenade. Following his interrogation, the officer was ordered to stay away from his unit for eight days and barred from contacting those involved in the incident, according to Barhano Tagania (N12).
A Border Police officer who was recorded Sunday night blocking a vehicle's door and throwing a stun grenade at Arab residents in the Qalandia refugee camp was questioned under caution by the Police Internal Affairs Department (Mahash) on Monday. After the interrogation, the officer was removed from his unit for eight days and prohibited from contacting those involved in the incident, according to N12 reporter Barhano Tagania. The suspension follows a series of official escalations in the case since the footage emerged overnight on Sunday.
The Zioneer's thread on the incident began with unverified footage reported by journalist Ganem Ibrahim at 22:04 Jerusalem on Sunday. Multiple Israeli news outlets and Israel Police itself quickly confirmed the footage and condemned the officer's actions as inconsistent with procedures. By the same hour (22:04), Machash had officially opened an investigation, and the officer was suspended from duty. Over the subsequent thread versions, the source quality evolved from a single journalist's report to corroboration by N12, Ynet, and Galei Tzahal, and finally to police and Machash confirmation. The present update—the officer's eight-day removal from the unit with a contact ban—represents the first tangible disciplinary outcome since the probe opened.
As The Zioneer reported earlier in this thread on Wednesday, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said he had spoken with Police Commissioner Danny Levi and instructed his office to examine restricting stun grenade use to exceptional cases or removing them from police entirely. That policy review remains under consideration.
What remains open: The officer's interrogation under caution does not necessarily indicate that charges will be filed. No date has been set for a further hearing or disciplinary hearing, and Machash has not released a formal conclusion of its investigation.
10 developments
- DevelopingPolice officers to face Justice Ministry investigation over exceptional Haredi protest footage
- DevelopingPolice investigate criminal grenade throwing in Ashdod, no injuries
- StrongIsraeli police fire stun grenades to disperse protesters
- StrongBen Gvir says he spoke with police commissioner, stun grenade use may be restricted or removed
Source and signal
- Internal intake