Occupied Palestine | فلسطين

Palestinian Citizens of Israel Convicted More Often than Jewish Citizens

PNN – Palestine News Network – 03.08.11 – 11:41

Tel Aviv – PNN – A recent study has revealed that Palestinian citizens of Israel are far more likely to receive custodial sentences than Jewish citizens of Israel.

Israeli daily Haaretz reported this week that a study commissioned by Israel’s Courts administration and Israel Bar Association has discovered that for certain crimes, 48.3% of Palestinians face sentencing compared to 33.6% for Jews. The study also found out that Palestinian citizens of Israel are not only more likely to face sentencing, but they are also more likely to be sent to prison and serve longer sentences than their Jewish counterparts.
On average it was found that an Israeli Jew would serve nine and a half months; a Palestinian Israeli, 14 months.
The study conducted by professors Giora Rahav, Ephraim Yaar and Yoram Rabin, outlined the much harsher tendencies the Israeli judicial system portrayed against its Palestinian citizens. Haaretz outlined that the study’s intent was to discover a tangible link between ethnicity and more draconian sentencing especially vis-à-vis violent crimes such as assault and battery, property and weapons and drug offences. The study was made available to Israeli courts, but as of yet has not been published.
The study, which was partly funded by the courts, investigated 1500 cases involving the crimes mentioned above between 1996 and 2005 in six magistrates and three district courts. Palestinian Israelis received much harsher sentencing in eight of the nine courts investigated.
The most significant result of the study was the difference in the two groups in relation to being sent to prison after sentencing. In total 63.5% of Palestinian Israelis who were convicted were sent to prison compared to just 43.7% of Jewish Israelis. It is worth noting that in a third of all cases, fines were issued and there seemed to be no disparity between the two groups.
Quoted in Haaretz, the courts administration responded to the study saying, “This is not the final report and the report has not yet been discussed. The issue will be considered when the final report and its conclusions are presented to the courts administration.”

Source