Honenu Accuses Shin Bet of Deploying Provocateurs

Following a Shin Bet report of a rise in “price tag” attacks against Arab targets, the Honenu legal aid organization has charged that police have employed a provocateur to persuade youths in Yehudah and Shomron to commit the acts of vandalism reprisal, Arutz Sheva reported on Wednesday.

In at least two such cases, the police agent updated security forces before, during, and after the crimes, while police did nothing to stop them, Honenu, which frequently provides legal defense to right-wing and hilltop youths, said.

In one instance, the agent allegedly gave the minor a bag with flammable material and spray paint, and urged him to use it to vandalize Arab property. The minor refused to commit arson and agreed only to spray-paint slogans.

“Israel 2018 wakes up to a world of agents provocateur like ‘Champagne‘ that we thought ended in 1995. This is an earthquake, which should concern every citizen of the State of Israel,” the Honenu organization declared in a statement on Wednesday.

“Champagne” was the codename of Shin Bet agent Avishai Raviv, who fomented rightwing violence and was accused of prior knowledge of the plot to assassinate Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin but not acting to prevent it.

Attorney Adi Keidar said that “the phenomenon of security forces employing agents provocateur must pass from the world, and those responsible and connected with it must be immediately removed from their positions.

“Every time the media publicizes an act of reprisal vandalism, let the public know there’s a chance the long arm of the security forces was involved in the incident, had a part in it, and perhaps even pushed others to do it,” he said.