18 hours ago
NGO petitions High Court: Forbid use of mounted police to break up protests
The use of mounted cops has a 'chilling effect' that discourages citizens from realizing their right to protest, and 'harms the foundations of democracy,' the ACRI said.
Israel Police should not be allowed to use mounted officers to break up protests or, at the very least, must change the protocols so they cannot be used alongside other protest dispersal methods to ensure the safety of demonstrators, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel petitioned the High Court of Justice on Monday.
The demand is for a conditional order, which would then place the burden on the police to prove why mounted officers are necessary.
The petition follows several broader incidents of violence experienced by protesters throughout the past two years due to the difference in strength and volume. Sunday saw hundreds of thousands protesting on highways and at central locations in major cities for the return and release of the 50 hostages still being held by Hamas.
Israel Police did not respond to a request for comment.
As alternatives to the current protocols, ACRI suggested altering the protocols, including ensuring that if mounted officers are used, protesters must have a clear exit route, as well as forbidding the use of the reins as whips.
According to the NGO, Israel Police's use of mounted officers breaches its authority and violates protester rights in an unreasonable manner by threatening their person, personal safety, and freedom to demonstrate. Per the petition, Israel Police has four mounted officer units, which include 64 horses, spread out in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, the North, and the South.
It added that the use of mounted cops has a 'chilling effect' that discourages citizens from realizing their right to protest and 'harms the foundations of democracy.'
Current approach by police ignores essential characteristics of mounted officers
ACRI attorney Nitsan Ilani, who filed the petition, noted that 'the current approach by police completely ignores the essential characteristics of mounted officers that are fundamentally different from other protest dispersal methods. The horse is a massive animal with unanticipated behaviors that cannot always be fully controlled. Using mounted cops to break up protests is often accompanied by intense, indiscriminate violence towards protesters.'
In May, a cop was indicted by the Justice Ministry's Police Investigation Department for attacking a protester, including by whipping, while patrolling on a horse during the anti-judicial reform demonstrations in April 2023.
'I have control of the horse, but it is not absolute. At the end of the day, it is an animal and has unpredictable behavior. It is a miracle that this didn't end with a 600 kg. [horse running] into the crowd,' the officer, Shai Peretz, told investigators at the time, according to Haaretz.
The petition also references a more recent incident from July 24, when a female protester was seriously injured by a kick from a horse. Footage shows her being knocked to the ground by the officer. While she was down, a mounted officer approached her, and the horse kicked her strongly with its back leg, causing her such intense pain that she couldn't stand. A medical examination revealed breaks to her spinal vertebrae.
Several other incidents of scuffles between protesters and mounted officers are listed in the petition.
Ilani said that despite these incidents, 'not only did Israel Police downgrade the use of mounted officers, [but] it changed its protocols to expand use.'
Ilani added, 'This lowers the capabilities to monitor the use of mounted police and the damages that follow.'
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