Erdan to Police: Investigate Immediately the Grenade Attack in Meah Shearim

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan on Tuesday wrote to the Chief of Police Investigations Department Keren Bar Menachem and Justice Minister Amir Ohana and asked to ensure that an investigation is being conducted against the police officers involved in the incident of the grenade thrown at a young girl in Meah Shearim, in Yerushalayim, last week, as well as the incident where a police officer appeared to push a chareidi citizen in Yerushalayim for no apparent reason.

Minister Erdan stressed that the investigation be carried out urgently and that its conclusions be made public as soon as possible to make the appropriate decisions regarding these events and maintain public confidence in the police.

Last Thursday evening, a shock grenade was thrown by police forces operating in the Meah Shearim neighborhood in the direction of  a young girl, without any threat to the forces. After the grenade was thrown, at no stage was assistance offered by police to the mother and child. The girl later required medical treatment.

Last Friday, Erdan issued a statement standing by police amid public criticism over its conduct. “We must remember that the state is sending policemen on life-saving missions, and I, as the minister in charge of the police, do not intend to abandon them when the criticism becomes a divisive incitement campaign,” he wrote in an online post.

The Margalis family from Meah Shearim appointed Attorney Dr. Yechiel Weinroth, Attorney Dubi Weinroth and Attorney Meir Avraham from Dr. J. Weinroth’s office to represent their nine-year-old daughter, who was wounded by the grenade.

Dr. Yechiel Weinroth said, “Without prejudice to the overall appreciation of the Israeli police, throwing a grenade at a nine-year-old girl is, by all accounts, an unbearable act. After a thorough examination of the legal options, the family will act accordingly.”