A Border Police officer was fined NIS 4,000 and ordered to pay NIS 2,000 in compensation for assaulting an Arab-Romani woman by the Jerusalem Magistrate Court on Tuesday.
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 when grabbing and aggressively handling Hala Salim by her neck and hair in an altercation at Jerusalem’s Old City Lion’s Gate in 2021.
As the officer continued to insist on her innocence and refuse 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.
Supporters of former Israeli police border officer Orian Ben Khalifa, accused of assaulting a Palestinian woman in Jerusalem Old City, protest outside her court hearing at the Magistrate’s Court in Jerusalem, on May 2, 2023 (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)The court said that the Border Police had accepted Khalifa back into their ranks after a suspension, be it 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.
The Border Police officer’s assault on an Arab-Romani woman
In 2021, Salim, her brother, and 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 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.
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 the Police Internal Investigation Unit.
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