An Arab man who was imprisoned for approximately five years by the ‘Palestinian’ Authority after attempting to sell land to a Jew successfully sued the PA through the Israeli court system, C14 reports today (Wednesday) that The Jerusalem District Court ordered the ‘Palestinian’ Authority to pay him approximately 3.34 million shekels (appx. $900,000) in compensation.
3+The compensation takes into account the severe violence and abuse the plaintiff suffered throughout his years of imprisonment. The money will be recovered through the tax collection mechanism, similar to the system used to compensate victims of terrorism. The ruling was issued by Judge Chaya Zandberg in a lawsuit filed by a resident of the village of as-Samu through attorney Barak Kedem, a partner at Arbus Kedem Tzur.
The plaintiff sought to sell family-owned land to a resident of the Jewish community of Shima. Under ‘Palestinian’ Authority law, however, selling the property to an Israeli was treated as a serious security offense falling under the category of “treason.” The plaintiff was arrested in February 2014 by the PA’s Preventive Security forces. Approximately three months later, he was charged with attempting to “transfer part of the Palestinian territories to the enemy.” In 2016, he was convicted by a court in Hebron and sentenced to five years in prison with hard labor, as well as a fine. His appeal to a Ramallah appeals court was rejected, and he remained imprisoned until February 2019.
3+The Israeli court determined that both his arrest and imprisonment were illegal. The judge ruled that an Israeli court could not recognize the sale of land to Israelis as “treason” merely because the buyers were Israeli. The ruling also exposed disturbing testimony about the treatment the plaintiff allegedly endured in PA detention facilities.
He testified that during interrogations, his hands and feet were shackled to an iron chair for hours at a time, leaving him unable to move. He was held in solitary confinement and bound with his hands behind his back in a manner that caused him to fall when the door was opened. He also described repeated verbal abuse and humiliation. The plaintiff said interrogators beat him with sticks and other objects while his head was covered. During winter, he said, he was left outside and doused with cold water. At other times, he was deprived of food, sleep and basic necessities.
3+According to his testimony, the abuse occurred repeatedly. The violence allegedly continued at Dahariya Prison, where the plaintiff was held in a cell known as the “Sharon Cell,” reserved for prisoners suspected of cooperating with Israel or selling land to Jews. He testified that masked PA personnel would enter the cell and beat its occupants with clubs, and that he once lost consciousness from the beatings. Another prisoner testified that he witnessed the plaintiff being beaten with hands and clubs before being placed in solitary confinement.
A second witness said he saw PA personnel step on the plaintiff’s head and beat him in the stomach and back with clubs while his hands were cuffed behind him, as well as leave him shackled to bars for hours during the night. The plaintiff also maintained during his criminal proceedings that his confessions had been extracted under torture. He identified two officers who he alleged interrogated him throughout the night, beat and cursed him, and ultimately returned him to his cell without clothing. The court noted that the PA did not call either of those officers to testify.
3+Additional evidence included a December 2014 medical document recording scratches on the plaintiff’s back, an injury to his finger and pain. The court criticized the absence of additional medical records but ultimately determined that the PA had subjected him to “actual violence” and committed the civil wrong of assault. The court awarded the plaintiff a total of 3,340,000 shekels, including attorney’s fees. Attorney Barak Kedem, who represented the plaintiff, said the ruling once again exposes “the shocking reality behind the ‘Palestinian’ Authority’s policy toward Arabs who dare to sell land to Jews.”
“The financial compensation cannot give him back the years that were taken from him or erase the damage caused to him,” Kedem said. “But the ruling sends a clear message: Anyone who persecutes, imprisons and tortures a person because of his connections with Jews and Israelis will be required to pay for his actions.” “We will continue working to ensure that every Palestinian harmed by the Palestinian Authority’s policy of persecution receives justice and substantial compensation,” he added.