Israeli police closed 9 out of 10 investigations into hate crimes cases against Palestinian mosques and churches between 2018 and 2020 because they were “unable to identify perpetrators”, Israeli media reported on Wednesday.
The remaining 10th case is pending a decision by the State Prosecutor’s Office, Haaretz reported.
The information was obtained by the Israeli daily after a freedom of information request when police initially refused to provide the details, the paper said. It added that the details of the last remaining open case were withheld.
Israel closed nine out of 10 probes of hate crimes in churches, mosques in last two years https://t.co/cHZSZE3Euh
— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) June 15, 2021
Between 2018 and 2020, at least 10 mosques and churches in the occupied West Bank, where just under 500,000 Israeli settlers live, were vandalized.
Among the attacks was the destruction of the Beit Jamal Monastery’s cemetery, near Beit Shemesh in Jerusalem, and the vandalism of a mosque in Jish.
The tires of dozens of cars in Palestinian neighborhoods were also slashed.
WATCH: #Extremist #Rabbi Glick Leads Jewish #Settlers in Provocative Tour of #AlAqsa https://t.co/YEVGVjFb7T via @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/EZEtJhLwh3
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) June 16, 2021
Israeli rights group Yesh Din recorded at least three cases of vandalism against religious buildings in the West Bank, which were closed by police.
According to data from Yesh Din, which only covers cases in the West Bank, 82 percent of such cases which were opened from 2005 to 2019 were closed because police allegedly could not identify the perpetrators.
(The New Arab, PC, Social Media)
