A complaint has been filed with the Police Investigations Department alleging severe violence by Border Police officers during the evacuation of the Tel Talpiyot outpost.
The complaint, submitted by attorney Elad Wiesel of the Honenu organization, alleges a series of incidents, including the assault of a minor with a weapon, throwing him from a vehicle, the direct firing of crowd-control munitions, and the theft of a credit card.
Video footage documenting the alleged assault of the minor was submitted with the complaint, along with records indicating that the credit card was used in a nearby PA town several hours after the evacuation had ended.
The incident reportedly occurred when several settlers attempted to passively protest the seizure of a security vehicle from the outpost. According to the complaint, Border Police personnel used force against the protesters, including striking a minor on the head with the barrel of a weapon and throwing him from a vehicle onto the ground. The complaint also alleges the use of tear-gas grenades fired directly at protesters, pepper spray, and a kick to the groin of one of the protesters.
The complaint further alleges that a credit card belonging to one of the settlers was taken from equipment removed from the site. Shortly afterward, the family reportedly received alerts about transactions made with the card at a supermarket in a nearby PA village. Honenu is calling for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the disappearance and subsequent use of the card.
"The transactions carried out in the area of the Palestinian Authority shortly after the forces evacuated the settlers from the outpost indicate the commission of serious criminal offenses and involvement with their equipment, breach of duty, theft, and violation of trust," the complaint states.
Wiesel accused Border Police personnel of using excessive force against protesters who, he said, posed no threat. "The footage from the field leaves no room for doubt: Border Police forces used excessive force and lacked any authority against protesters who posed no danger," he said.
"Seeing a police officer beat a minor on the head with the barrel of a rifle, throw him violently from a vehicle crate, and fire gas directly at others, proves these are not legitimate means of dispersing a protest; they constitute criminal bullying," Wiesel added.
He also pointed to a previous complaint filed by Honenu following an incident at the same outpost approximately two months ago, in which a settler was allegedly seriously injured in the face by direct fire.
"The fact that the same pattern of violence repeats itself, alongside beatings to the head, targeted kicks to the groin, and theft of property from a home that was evicted, proves that the false allegation of 'settler violence' is filtering into the forces in the field, and the settlers are fair game," Wiesel said. "We demand that the Police Investigations Department open a criminal investigation with warning and not grant immunity to anyone who acts against the law," he concluded.