Settler woman acquitted of assault charge

(Video) Hebron resident Yifat Alkobi, who was caught on tape calling Palestinian woman 'whore', was accused of attacking Palestinian boy six years ago. Defense attorney: Police adopted Palestinian incitement narrative

Aviad Glickman|Published: 03.14.11 , 20:50

VIDEO - The Jerusalem Magistrates' Court on Monday acquitted Yifat Alkobi, a resident of Hebron's Jewish quarter, of assaulting a Palestinian boy six years ago.

The judge criticized Israel Police's handling of the case, saying there were severe problems with the police line-ups.

In her ruling, Judge Hagit Mac-Kalmanovich determined that the testimonies of the Palestinian complainant and his friends were filled with contradictions.

Alkobi, who was dubbed the "cursing settler," denied the allegations and claimed she was being systematically persecuted by Hebron's police department because she is one of the more vocal leaders of the Jewish community in the West Bank city.

Alkobi's confrontation with Palestinians in 2007 (Video courtesy of B'Tselem)

סגור

שליחה לחבר

הסרטון נשלח לחברך

סגור

הטמעת הסרטון באתר שלך

קוד להטמעה:

<object width='408' height='296' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' data='//mediadownload.ynet.co.il/fp3218/flowplayer.commercial-3.2.18.swf'><param name='movie' value='//mediadownload.ynet.co.il/fp3218/flowplayer.commercial-3.2.18.swf'/><param name='flashvars' value='config={&quot;key&quot;:&quot;#&#036;82d88990cf33aa2235a&quot;,&quot;clip&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;http://ynethd-f.akamaihd.net/z/0311/1403111938betzeleming.wmv.flv/manifest.f4m&quot;,&quot;scaling&quot;:&quot;fit&quot;,&quot;provider&quot;:&quot;akamai&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;video&quot;},&quot;plugins&quot;:{&quot;akamai&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;//mediadownload.ynet.co.il/fp3218/AkamaiAdvancedFlowplayerProvider-3.9.swf&quot;},&quot;controls&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;//mediadownload.ynet.co.il/fp3218/flowplayer.controls-3.2.16.swf&quot;,&quot;autoHide&quot;:false,&quot;height&quot;:26,&quot;zIndex&quot;:1}},&quot;logo&quot;:{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;//mediadownload.ynet.co.il/flowplayerlive/ynetlogo.png&quot;,&quot;top&quot;:15,&quot;left&quot;:15,&quot;fullscreenOnly&quot;:false}}'/><param name='allowfullscreen' value='true'/><param name='quality' value='high'/><param name='cachebusting' value='true'/><param name='bgcolor' value='#000000'/><param name='wmode' value='opaque'/><param name='AllowScriptAccess' value='always'></object>

The settler made headlines in 2007 when the B'Tselem human rights group aired a video showing her quarreling with a Palestinian family and calling one of the Palestinian women "Sharmuta (whore)".

Alkobi's attorney, Eli Fuchsbrumer, lauded the court's decision and said "it is hard to comprehend the wickedness which allows the cynical use of disabled children by the Palestinian incitement apparatus."

The attorney criticized Shai District police for "adopting the narrative of the Palestinian incitement despite the objective account of a witness who testified on behalf of the complainant and denied the claim that the boy had his teeth knocked out."

The Yesh Din human rights group said the "investigation's failures prevented the court from deciding between the versions of the defendant and the complainant."