Palestinian loses eye in “senseless attack” by Israeli police

Two Israeli border police officers are being investigated for throwing a hand grenade and seriously wounding a Palestinian in a “senseless attack” in the occupied West Bank, a rare case of charges brought by Israeli courts.

A Palestinian man was attacked by border guards in an incident in January 2023 in the northern West Bank near the Israeli military base of Salem and lost sight in one eye.

Border police were travelling in a convoy after returning from monitoring a military attack in the city of Jenin when two police officers decided to throw a grenade at a Palestinian standing by the side of the road.

Israeli newspaper HaaretzCiting an indictment by the Israeli Justice Ministry’s police misconduct department, the Israeli police said the two men were accused of “hasty and negligent use” of an explosive device.

The indictment said that a convoy of military and police vehicles was returning from the operation in Jenin and passed by the man, who was standing next to his car, smoking a cigarette and watching the convoy.

“A few moments later, defendant number two opened the vehicle door and held it open with his hands and feet so that he could throw the grenades at the plaintiff,” the indictment states, according to Israeli media reports.

“Two grenades were thrown from the vehicle, one by defendant number one and the other grenade by another (third) policeman, whose identity is unknown to the prosecution, without any justification.”

Despite the seriousness of the crime, which resulted in the Palestinian losing an eye and suffering injuries to his arm, the charge carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison.

The indictment states that the two police officers, whose identities were not disclosed, attacked the man “without any reason”.

The two border police officers are accused of recklessness and negligence.

It is highly unusual for Israeli police and soldiers to be charged and found guilty by Israeli courts of crimes against Palestinians, despite overwhelming witness testimony and documentation from human rights groups.

In April, the United States said it was investigating five Israeli military units for human rights abuses in incidents against Palestinians in the West Bank.

One of the units affected is an ultra-Orthodox military battalion called Netzah Yehuda, which is partly made up of West Bank settlers and was reportedly on the verge of being sanctioned by the US government.

The unit has been accused of violating Palestinian rights over a long period of time, but Israeli authorities have failed to take corrective action despite warnings from US authorities.

In 2022, 78-year-old Palestinian-American Omar Assad suffered a fatal heart attack at a West Bank checkpoint after being arrested, handcuffed and gagged by Netzah Yehuda soldiers.

The army described Assad’s death at the time as a “moral failure”, but the unit is still active and currently stationed in the Gaza Strip.