Israel closes case in police attack on Arab-Israeli journalist

The Israeli Justice Ministry said it closed the investigation into the wounding of an Arab-Israeli journalist as it was unable to identify the perpetrator of the attack, Haaretz reported yesterday.

Journalist Hana Mahameed, who works for the Lebvanese TV station Al-Mayadeen, was struck in the face with a stun grenade while covering protests after Israeli forces killed Palestinian Fadi Alloun in the Al- Issawiya neighbourhood of occupied East Jerusalem in October 2015.

Arab MK Yousef Jabareen from the Joint List filed a complaint on behalf of Mahameed to the Israeli Justice Ministry which investigates police violations.

In his complaint, Jabareen said: “Mahameed was wearing a helmet and a fluorescent vest that clearly indicated her identity as a journalist during this incident. Therefore, it was not possible to have been mistaken about her identity.”

“She was standing together with a group of journalists and other media outlets behind the policemen and covering the police forces’ entry into the neighbourhood.”

“The footage clearly shows that the throwing of the grenade was unnecessary and did not serve any operational need. Moreover, it was in complete violation of the law, court rulings and even the police’s internal directives,” he added.

Haaretz reported that in May, the ministry told Jabareen: “Unfortunately, and despite our efforts, we were unable to identify the perpetrator of the crime against the complainant. Under these circumstances, there is no choice but to close the case on the grounds of ‘perpetrator unknown’.”