Six Jewish teenagers from Jerusalem have been charged in Jerusalem District Juvenile Court with attacking an East Jerusalem Palestinian and causing him serious injury, including a broken ankle.
Four of the suspects have admitted to assaulting Ibrahim Abu Ta'a, 28, saying they thought he was “taking advantage” of an intoxicated Jewish woman he was accompanying.
Abu Ta'a, from East Jerusalem's Ras al-Amud neighborhood, and his co-workers at Jerusalem's Mamilla Hotel were at a club in the Talpiot neighborhood on the night of September 5-6.
L, a Jewish woman in the group, started to feel unwell; Abu Ta’a and another colleague volunteered to driver her to home in the Katamon neighborhood.
According to the charge sheet, when they got to the beginning of her street, L felt sick, and the driver stopped the car. She got out, as did Abu Ta’a. She began vomiting. Abu Ta’a tried to hold her up.
A group of Jewish youths watched from the other side of the street. Some of them approached Abu Ta’a and L and ask what they were doing. Both men and L assured the youths that everything was fine, that they were helping L get home and didn't need assistance. The teens refused to leave, continuing to ask questions.
At some point an argument broke out between the youths and Abu Ta’a, during which one of the accused allegedly slapped him. Abu Ta’a, L and the other man got back into the car and proceeded toward L’s home at the other end of the street, the indictment said.
When the three neared L’s home, the suspects, who had been following, approached again, surrounding Abu Ta’a and the other man. One suspect asked if Abu-Ta’a was an Arab.
After Abu-Ta’a said yes, the suspect said, “No Arab can be here,” according to the charge sheet said.
The suspects allegedly choked, pushed, kicked and beat Abu-Ta’a with their fists, as he begged them to stop, saying he hadn’t done anything. At some point he was pushed to the ground, as the suspects kicked him all over his body, “all because of racist motivations, because the complainant is Arab,” the indictment said.
In addition to the broken ankle that had to be set surgically, Abu Ta'a's left hand was injured. He also had bruises all over this body.
According to the indictment, one of the suspects picked up Abu-Ta’a’s wallet, which had fallen from his pocket during the altercation. The youth allegedly split the NIS 350 and $200 he took out of it with another suspect.
All six youths are charged with causing serious injury; two of them also were charged with theft.
The incident is the second serious attack of a Palestinian by Jewish teens. Late last month, nine Jerusalem youths – one of whom is over 18 -- were charged with involvement an attack on Jamal Joulani near Zion Square in the city center.
Joulani, 17, also of Ras al-Amud, was beaten unconscious, resuscitated by Magen David Adom paramedics summoned to the scene, and hospitalized in a coma for several days. The nine are accused of incitement to racism, incitement to violence and aggravated assault.
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