A Palestinian Authority Arab teenager who infiltrated the town of Zayit Raanan near Neria was caught by soldiers, but was not arrested after police refused to come and question him.
Following the incident, Avinoam Goelman, head of security in the Jewish town of Neria, wrote a letter to district police commander Shlomi Kaatabi this week accusing police of failing to provide security for Jewish residents of the Binyamin region in southern Samaria.
The Arab infiltrator was caught near a caravan used by IDF soldiers on Sunday afternoon. Soldiers who detained the infiltrator and questioned him discovered that he was a resident of the nearby village of Dir Amar who had infiltrated Zayit Raanan before.
The soldiers called for police to come and arrest the suspect. But according to Goelman, the police refused to come. “[The police] answered that they were not interested in coming, even though they were informed that this was a Palestinian who had infiltrated the town twice in two months, and that his father has been wanted by the Shin Bet [Israel Security Agency] for questioning for a long time,” Goelman said.
In the end, the suspect was held for six hours, but police never arrived. Soldiers offered to bring the suspect to the police, but police rejected the offer, according to Goelman. On Sunday evening the suspect was released.
"There's no doubt that this incident strengthens my argument that the police has decided, for some strange reason, to discriminate against Jews in Judea and Samaria, because the decision made here stinks of bad politics. It makes no sense that police would decide in such a case—and moreover, decide from a distance without any investigation—to release someone who has infiltrated a Jewish town for the second time, and succeeded in reaching soldiers' living quarters,” Goelman wrote.
An Israeli who entered an Arab village in Judea and Samaria would not be treated as the Arab who entered Zayit Raanan was, but rather would be immediately detained and investigated, and would not be released without signing a pledge to stay away from the village, he argued.
"Is the Israeli Police waiting until, God forbid, there will be a disaster and residents or soldiers will be murdered, and only then police will come to detain or arrest suspects? As long as 'nothing happens,' will the police continue to 'close their eyes' and not intervene in what happens in Judea and Samaria?” Goelman asked.
Goelman said his letter was not answered, and added that a previous letter went unanswered as well.
Police: Infiltration was not a crime
Binyamin region police responded to Goelman's accusations by saying the Arab who infiltrated Zayit Raanan was “a young man, aged 15, who arrived in Zayit Raanan, which is not a town with distinct boundaries and therefore there was no 'infiltration.' The Palestinian was checked and soldiers found that he had no criminal record. He was an innocent shepherd, so we ordered the soldiers to release him.”
The fact that the teen had entered the town before was meaningless, police said. “The area in question is an area where Palestinians herd their sheep, and the young man entered the town accidentally. Even if it happened several time, it's not a crime.”
Police also rejected Goelman's claim that his letters had not been answered. All letters to the police are answered, and when Goelman's letter arrives it will be answered as well, they said.