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Knesset Member Ofer Cassif Convicted of Assaulting Police Officer
Member of Knesset Ofer Cassif was convicted in Jerusalem on Thursday of assaulting a police officer under aggravated circumstances. The case stems from a May 2022 protest in the southern Hebron Hills, and sentencing will be set later.
28 newsrooms · 4 languages · since
What happened
- 01The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court convicted MK Ofer Cassif on Thursday of assaulting a police officer under aggravated circumstances.
- 02The case came from a May 2022 protest in the southern Hebron Hills, and sentencing will be decided later.
- 03According to the indictment, Cassif’s car struck an officer’s leg before he got out and hit the officer on the head.
- 04The court rejected Cassif’s claims of parliamentary immunity, accidental contact and self-defense.
- 05The protest followed a Supreme Court ruling on villages in Masafer Yatta, and security forces had declared the area a closed military zone.
- 06Cassif said the verdict was political persecution against those who oppose the policies he described, and he linked it to political pressure.
- 07According to some outlets, Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticized the four-year delay in the case, while the Joint List and B’Tselem condemned the ruling.
According to the indictment, Cassif came to a protest area after a Supreme Court ruling over villages in Masafer Yatta and was stopped by security forces in a closed military zone. Police said he tried to drive through a blocked route, then reversed and moved forward into an officer’s leg, before getting out and striking the officer on the head.
The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court rejected Cassif’s claims of parliamentary immunity, accidental contact and self-defense. Several outlets reported that the court found the vehicle strike and the blow to the officer were intentional, while Cassif said the case was politically motivated and part of persecution against those who oppose the policies he described.
Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir criticized the long delay in bringing the case to conviction, and the Joint List and B’Tselem condemned the ruling, according to some reports. Other outlets said the officer involved and the prosecution relied on video and witness evidence.
Summarized by baba from the reports of 14 newsrooms. Updated
Latest report: Al-Shams. Read Al-Shams’s original
The coverage
28 newsrooms on this story
Who covered it
- Left2
- Centre8+3
- Right7+2
- Haredi3
- Arab4
- Other4
