Suspects in killing of 10-year-old Palestinian girl not to be tried

Source: Haaretz, 31-7-2007
The Jerusalem (al-Quds) District Prosecutor`s Office decided Tuesday not to indict Border Police officers suspected of being responsible for the January death of 10-year-old Abir Aramin from the West Bank village of Anata near Jerusalem.
The civil rights group "Yesh Din", which specializes in representing Palestinians whose rights have been violated by "Israel's" defense (war) establishment or by Jewish (Zionist) settlers, announced that it will appeal the decision.
Aramin was seriously wounded in the head when she stepped out of school with her sister during recess and found herself in the midst of a confrontation between border police and young protestors.
Pathologists who conducted the autopsy on the girl`s body found it difficult to determine what the cause of the girl`s death had actually been. While the doctors dismissed the possibility that she was hit with a rubber bullet, they did not dismiss the possibility that she was killed by a stun grenade or rock.
Since the pathologists could not determine the cause of death, the Jerusalem (al-Quds) prosecutors decided to close the investigation due to lack of evidence.
The investigation was conducted by the Judea and Samaria (West Bank) police department and not by the internal affairs division of the police department as the incident took place in the West Bank.
At the time of Aramin`s death, military police would enter the village often and - according to village residents - instigate conflicts with the local residents.
Despite the death of his daughter, Basam Aramin, an activist with the non-profit organization "Combatants for Peace" decided to cooperate with the police.
In a deal struck two months after Aramin`s death, it was agreed that Border Police would no longer enter the village without coordinating it first with the local residents - unless an internal emergency demanded police intervention.
Local parents and political figures agreed that if a violent confrontation with police should erupt, they would act to restore order immediately.