Ofer – Military Court
Ofer – Military Court, Monday 14.8.06Observers: Yoske M. and Hanna B. (reporting)Court room 7The trials we were attending were traffic violations. The police prosecutor was Gaby Romi. The judges refused to identify themselves by name.Even before the trial started the prosecutor arrived to arrange plea bargains with some of the accused, at a place and time unknown to us. None of the defendants, in whose names the plea bargains were signed, were present in the courtroom.It must be pointed out that the court cannot be reached by inhabitants of the Hebron and Betlehem area. Ten files were to be judged.In judgment sat two judges with the rank of captain, of whom at least one sat for the first time as a trial judge. From the conversation he conducted with the prosecutor we gathered that in civilian life he is a lawyer who deals mostly with traffic violations. His remarks were geared to bring a sterner verdict. It was very clear that these two judges have no notion at all of the situation in the territories and they accepted the “propositions” that were made by the prosecutor. In essence, they served as rubber stamps for the police-prosecutor.We had the impression that the judges had difficulty interpreting the material that was presented to them and they even said so. The names of the defendants were not read out loud, maybe because not one of them was present in court, and the judges only made sure that the ID numbers were in agreement.In 18 out of 20 files that were on trial today, the defendants deceived the same verdict – a fine of 1500 NIS, and revocation of their drivers license for 2 – 4 months duration, and one year conditionally. One of the accused was represented by a lawyer who doesn’t speak Hebrew. Although the prosecutor speaks Arabic, he conducted the deliberations with the lawyer with the help of an interpreter (and Arabic is an official language in the state of Israel). In this file a plea bargain was entered, and the accused was fined 500 NIS only. In another file a verdict of 2000 NIS was handed down.Since we were the only spectators in the room the trial was conducted in whispers and it was difficult to follow the particulars of the cases. It was striking that in cases where a misdemeanor was conducted which endangers human life, and in files where only technical ordinary offences were made, the results were the same and all were given the same punishment.
Hebron
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According to Wye Plantation Accords (1997), Hebron is divided in two: H1 is under Palestinian Authority control, H2 is under Israeli control. In Hebron there are 170,000 Palestinian citizens, 60,000 of them in H2. Between the two areas are permanent checkpoints, manned at all hours, preventing Palestinian movement between them and controlling passage of permit holders such as teachers and schoolchildren. Some 800 Jews live in Avraham Avinu Quarter and Tel Rumeida, on Givat HaAvot and in the wholesale market.
Checkpoints observed in H2:
- Bet Hameriva CP- manned with a pillbox
- Kapisha quarter CP (the northern side of Zion axis) - manned with a pillbox
- The 160 turn CP (the southern side of Zion axis) - manned with a pillbox
- Avraham Avinu quarter - watch station
- The pharmacy CP - checking inside a caravan with a magnometer
- Tarpat (1929) CP - checking inside a caravan with a magnometer
- Tel Rumeida CP - guarding station
- Beit Hadassah CP - guarding station
Three checkpoints around the Tomb of the Patriarchs
Muhammad D.May-13-2026Hebron - Request for compensation for land expropriation
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