Israel Police has reached a settlement with a group of protesters who sued it, claiming they were strip-searched after being detained for questioning. The agreement, which was given the force of a court judgment on Monday, requires the police to pay a total of NIS 624,000 to 13 protesters.
The settlement states that the payment is being made “as an exception,” without admitting the plaintiffs’ claims, and in order to fully and finally settle all allegations. The protesters had sought compensation for what they said was a violation of their rights.
The Detention Protection system said the ruling ends a dangerous pattern. “It does not matter how many times it is said that strip-searching is illegal, officers continued to carry out the order of Itamar Ben Gvir and abuse protesters. Now, we have put an end to it. Either the police will stop strip-searching, or they will pay every time,” the group said.
Attorney Oren Goldberg called the settlement a precedent that reflects a broader problem. He said it is “not a private matter, but a grave sample of a wider and dangerous phenomenon, the shrinking of the space for speech and protest through improper use of criminal tools.” He added that there are “hundreds, if not thousands” of similar cases. The Detention Protection group said 16 protesters have already received financial compensation over the past year alone. The article also says critics have accused police, since Ben Gvir became national security minister, of increasingly aggressive tactics against demonstrations, including arrests, violence, and humiliating strip-searches.
