The assault that never was: Military Prosecution withdraws assault charge against Naser Nawaj’ah, B'Tselem field researcher; the parties signed a plea bargain

6 August 2023

Sunday, July 30, 2023, the Military Court at Ofer Camp signed off on the plea bargain struck between the MAG Corps and B'Tselem field researcher Naser Nawaj’ah, in which the MAG Corps withdrew the assault charge. Naser admitted he interfered in the work of a police officer in September 2021, during a tour held for diplomats in Nawaj’ah’s home village of Susiya in the South Hebron Hills. The visit was disrupted by settlers who entered the village. Soldiers who were at the scene did nothing to stop them from disrupting the visit, instead, using violence against the local Palestinian residents. Nawa’jah was sentenced to a probationary jail term of six weeks. The “interference with a soldier during the performance of his duties” was carried out as part of Nawa’jah’s work as a field researcher with B'Tselem and a human rights activist.

Nawaj’ah, a father of four, has worked with B'Tselem for more than 15 years. He is a key human rights activist in the southern West Bank and has been targeted by Israel for years now as it tries to disrupt his activities and prevent him from reporting on human rights abuses and the policies of the apartheid regime in the area. Among other things, Nawaj’ah was interrogated by the Israel Security Agency several times, and he is regularly detained in checkpoints.

His case is not unusual. The rate of conviction at the military court is almost 100%, with almost all cases ending in a plea bargain and the prosecution never having to actually present evidence. Palestinians are willing to enter plea agreements because they know their odds of getting justice in a military court are non existent. This court is run by the regime of occupation. The prosecution and the judges are soldiers representing the interests of this regime. In addition, in most cases, the courts remand Palestinian detainees to custody pending the end of proceedings, and they have to go through these kangaroo trials from jail. Signing a deal enables them to get a lighter sentence and get back to their lives.

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