Tear-Gas Accident Blamed for Jerusalem Mosque Riot

A judge investigating last year’s killings of 20 Palestinians at Al Aqsa Mosque concluded that police ignited rioting when one fumbled a tear gas canister and that they otherwise acted in some “improper” ways.

The judge, Ezra Kama, chose not to bring criminal charges because, he said, it was impossible to tell who was directly responsible for the deaths.

Kama’s opinion conflicts with the results of a government inquiry, which concluded that Arabs had started the mayhem by hurling stones on Jewish worshipers at the Western Wall below. By the time the stones were thrown, most of the Jewish worshipers at the wall had fled.

The judgment appears to close the door on the killings, which set off a wave of fatal reprisals by Palestinians and further slayings by soldiers in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

“The behavior (of the police) in some cases was improper, but I can’t see reason to press charges against any of the policemen,” said Kama, who reviewed about 4,000 pages of testimony during his eight-month probe. “It’s impossible to attribute the death of a certain person to a certain place or to say that a certain policeman is the one who caused the death of that person.”

The judge added that the outburst began “when a tear gas grenade accidentally fell down, began rolling away from the forces and fell near a group of Muslim women.”

Jerusalem police issued a statement expressing satisfaction with the report and pledged to study it. In the aftermath of the killings, one police chief was promoted; no one was reprimanded or punished, even though the government report specified that “uncontrolled fire” was used in repelling the Palestinians.

A law team representing a slain Arab citizen of Israel expressed disappointment with the judge’s decision not to press criminal charges. “The bottom line is that there is encouragement for the police to do the same thing next time,” argued attorney Yaron Kedan.

“The court determined there was no justification on many occasions for shooting rubber bullets or live ammunition at close range,” said Avigdor Feldman, who examined many of the witnesses.

Judge Kama’s 50-page report was especially critical of police on two counts. First, rapid rifle fire was used without the need for self-defense. “The account of danger was exaggerated and strange,” Kama ruled.

Only one killing occurred at the beginning of the riot, when it was thought that Jews might still be worshiping at the Western Wall. The rest were slain later as the police recaptured the mosque area, the judge pointed out. No autopsies were performed because of the quick burial of the dead at the behest of families, he added.

Secondly, he said, police were inefficient in collecting evidence after the shootings. Bullets, the judge noted, were not picked up from the ground and kept after the violence.

The Kama investigation was mandated under a law that requires an inquiry into deaths caused by the police.

Repercussions from the incident continue to sour Israel’s relations with the United States, which backed U.N. condemnation of the the bloodshed.