Israeli court fines Border Police officer for assault on Arab-Romani woman

A border policewoman was fined NIS 4,000 and ordered to pay NIS 2000 in compensation for assaulting an Arab-Romani woman by the Jerusalem Magistrate Court on Tuesday.

Border police officer Orian Ben Khalifa faced 40 days in prison if the fine was not paid, and a total of 12 months in suspended prison sentences conditioned on felony and misdemeanor violence within three years from the sentencing.

The court said that it had taken into account Khalifa's prior excellence and committed service as an officer, but that she did not show remorse for grabbing and aggressively handling Hala Salim by her neck and hair in an altercation at Jerusalem's Old City Lion's Gate in 2021.

The Police Internal Investigations Department (Machash), requested a punishment of several months of community service. The court said that the officer continued to insist on her innocence and refused responsibility for the crime; community service wasn't deemed relevant, since it was a rehabilitative rather than punitive measure.

Khalifa had argued against the verdict and sentencing by claiming that the decision could impact her goal to study law and prevent her from finishing her service in the border police. 

The court said that the border police had accepted Khalifa back into their ranks after a suspension, albeit in a different capacity, signaling that she would be able to continue and finish her service. A criminal conviction would not automatically disqualify a candidate for the Israel Bar Association, and there were those with convictions that practiced law. Consequently, these arguments couldn't factor into the verdict or sentencing.

The court had said that it was always difficult setting a price for physical injury, but the financial compensation was symbolic of recognition of the injury caused to Halim. The court also noted that the affair had damaged the reputation and image of the Border Police.

Khalifa's attorney's said on Tuesday that they would appeal both the conviction and the sentences and establish the border policewoman's innocence. 

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who had previously made public statements in defense of Khalifa, said that the ruling was outrageous.

"Unfortunately, the judge's agenda overrode professionalism and legal precedent that doesn't convict in such an incident," said Ben-Gvir. "The decision proves again: A real reform is needed of the judicial system and not a cosmetic reform."

The Border Police officer's assault on an Arab-Romani woman

In 2021, Salim, her brother, and her mother attempted to pass a point that Khalifa had been assigned to cordon off. They repeatedly demanded entry, and according to the court, the border policewoman resorted to violence without physical instigation. Khalifa grabbed Salim by the neck Salim with enough force to remove her hijab and pulled her to a nearby police station.

At the station, Salim was shaken by her neck and told to "shut up," when she cried. The court noted on Tuesday that the continuation of the violence in the station beyond the initial clash changed the course of the verdict and sentencing. Machash on Tuesday said that the incident was not a single outburst but a series of acts.

Khalifa argued during the hearings before the conviction that the case against her was motivated by the Israel Police's connections with Salim's father, represented the Arab-Romani community as a Mukhtar, and worked with authorities to solve disputes.

The border policewoman had been charged with obstruction of justice for not detailing her use of violence in her incident report, but according to the court was acquitted due to investigation failures by Machash.