Israeli court fines policewoman for assaulting young Palestinian woman

By Zein Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) - An Israeli court on Tuesday fined a border policewoman for assaulting a young Palestinian woman in occupied East Jerusalem in 2021, drawing fire from far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court ordered Oriane Ben Kalifa to pay a fine of 4,000 shekels ($1,100) or spend 40 days in prison and slapped her with an eight-month suspended sentence and four months of probation, according to The Times of Israel newspaper.

The Israeli policewoman was also ordered to pay 2,000 shekels ($550) in compensation to the Palestinian victim, who was 25 years old at the time.

Ben-Gvir, however, blasted the court verdict as "outrageous."

"Unfortunately, the judge’s agenda overcame professionalism and the judicial rule that such cases don’t lead to conviction," Ben-Gvir said in a statement.

The incident took place in November 2021 when the policewoman refused to allow Palestinian Hala Salim to cross an Israeli security checkpoint in East Jerusalem's Old City.

As the situation developed, the Israeli policewoman attacked the Palestinian, choking her and pulling off her headscarf, pulling her hair and shaking her.