The entrance to Jerusalem was again stormy Saturday night when 24 demonstrators, including eight minors, were arrested during protests following the death of Ahuvya Sandak during a police chase in Binyamin a year ago.
Several hundred protestors demonstrated at the entrance to the city, blocked the main route, and clashed with police, marking a year since the tragic incident which the police have yet to resolve.
The detainees complained of severe police violence during the arrests. Police also used a water cannon with foul water to disperse the protesters.
“The police are once again taking a hard line against demonstrators, some of them minors, disproportionate to what they allegedly did and preventing them from expressing their legal and legitimate protest,” the Honenu rights organization stated after the event.
Footage seen by TPS shows a police officer threatening the protestors with “another death.”
The police stated that “it will continue to allow freedom of protest within the law, but will not allow a violation of public order in violation of the law and will act against violent riots and attempts to harm police officers and motorists.”
Sandak, 16, was killed in December 2020 when the car he was driving in with another four youths was being chased by the police and overturned during the high-speed pursuit.
An initial inquiry shows that the police car rammed them from behind and caused the deadly accident. Furthermore, the police failed to properly treat the site of the accident.
The police claim the Sandak and the four others were involved in throwing rocks at Arabs.
Internal Affairs has launched an investigation, and reports indicate that at least one policeman will be charged in the case in the near future.
These reports and the anniversary of Sandak’s death have reignited protests in recent days after months of quiet on the issue.
Sandak’s family is demanding that the officers involved in the incident be charged with murder.