YNET: Court throws out confession of Jewish minor held on terror charges
Judge slams behavior of investigators after police set up a fake prison cell, pretended to be inmates and even planted drugs in his bed in an effort to secure a confession from the young settler

Elisha Ben Kimon and Gilad Morag, 01.01.19

The Central District Court in Lod on Tuesday threw out a confession given by an Israeli minor detained as part of a far-reaching investigation into Jewish terrorism, on the grounds that it was extracted by unlawful means and under duress.

The teen has been charged with several racially motivated offenses, including arson and damage to property in a 2013 attack at the Abbey of the Dormition in Jerusalem. During the attack, graffitti reading "Christians are monkeys" and “Christians are slaves" was sprayed on the walls of the church.

The youth was also questioned on suspicion of involvement in the deadly Duma terror attack of 2015, in which three members of a Palestinian family died in a fire started by Jewish extremists at their West Bank home. The court, however, found he was not involved in the attack.

The decision to throw out the teen's testimony was made after his attorney, Itamar Ben-Gvir, argued that the Shin Bet domestic security service and the police unlawfully obtained the confession from his client, who admitted to carrying out the hate crimes while he was in custody in Acre.

On Thursday, the investigative television program Fact reported that the youth had been placed in a fake prison cell in Acre Prison, while policemen disguised as his cellmates applied massive pressure on him to confess to his actions, including stopping him from sleeping and eating.

One of the policemen played the role of a prisoner serving a murder sentence, and officers even planted fake drugs under his mattress to pressure him.

Ben-Gvir argued in court that a red line had been crossed and that unacceptable investigative measures had been used to get the confession.

Throwing out the confession, Judge Michal Brandt called the behavior of the police “unfair, to say the least, as well as offensive and threatening,” the Times of Israel reported.

Ben-Gvir praised the court's decision, saying his client had been denied his basic rights.

"This is an important day for Israeli democracy. The time has come for the Shin Bet and the police to know that the Hilltop Youth (young exteme (sic.)-right settlers) also have basic rights. All red lines have been crossed in this investigation. I'm glad the court accepted our claim and disqualified the confession," Ben-Gvir said.

The Central District Prosecutor's Office said in a statement that they may rethink their strategy in light of the ruling.

"The defendant was charged with severe offenses, whose ramifications are also felt in internationally. The police and Shin Bet used measures they believed to be within the boundaries of the law. The court rejected the confession given by the minor under these conditions, and we will thoroughly review the court's decision and consider our future actions."

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
Right-wing activists will be quick to hail the ruling of the judge to throw out the accused minor's confession as a victory.

I certainly praise Itamar Ben-Gvir on his legal prowess and win. However, I must remind everyone,...again, that once in a while the Israeli [in]Justice system realizes that they can't win a particular case to further its Erev Rav agenda. And so, it takes advantage of the situation, by making us believe that we "won one," and that justice has been served.

The reality has not changed. And nothing will change, until we have a completely different system in place. Until we do, the self-propagating Israeli [in]Justice system will continue to chip away at the Jewish nature of the State of Israel, and that certainly includes any remaining connection to Torah.

Please see the video (above) of the demonstration two days ago for the three minors who are sitting in prison without letting them consult with their lawyers.

The most important segment of this report on the "right-wing victory" is actually this:

The Central District Prosecutor's Office said in a statement... "The defendant was charged with severe offenses, whose ramifications are also felt in (sic.) internationally...."

 This supports what I have been saying for the longest time. The Israeli Government cares more about what the so-called "international community" thinks about it, than what its own constituents think about, let alone what they want from it, let alone what the Holy One, Blessed Be He, wants from it.