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M-16Police Spokesman

Police have apologized to Issawiya, East Jerusalem resident Samar Suleiman, after it was revealed that police staged a scene at his home as part of the docu-series Jerusalem District.

"We apologize for any harm done to the citizen as a result of the broadcast. The case is under investigation and the lessons learned will be derived accordingly," the Israel Police said.

This morning the Haaretz newspaper revealed that police had planted weapons in Suleiman's house in East Jerusalem and documented its finding for the documentary series Jerusalem District of the Kann public broadcasting corporation.

The search of his home was carried out in November 2018, after which he received a report from the police that said: "Nothing was found." Suleiman was never arrested or questioned about the weapon that was "found" in his home.

In the ninth episode of Jerusalem District, police are seen searching for weapons at Suleiman's home. At the end of the search an IDF-issue M-16 assault rifle was allegedly found in the basement, which one of the police officers called "a tunnel that wouldn't shame the excavations in Gaza."

Following the Haaretz report, the episode was removed from the website and YouTube channel of Kann broadcast corporation.

"The complaint is being investigated against the company who produced the program, Coda Communications. All production houses working with the broadcasting corporation, including Coda, have signed a contract requiring compliance with the ethics rules in full. If any evidence is found to be true of these serious charges, the case will be handled accordingly."