Israel’s Attorney General rejects appeal against closure of investigation into killing of Mussa Hassouna in Lod during May 2021 events

On 22 July 2024, Israel’s State Attorney's Appeals Department informed the family of the late Mussa Hassouna that Israel’s Attorney General (AG) had decided to reject Adalah’s appeal in which it challenged the closure of the investigation into the five suspects involved in the shooting that killed Hassouna and injured two other Palestinian citizens of Israel on 10 May 2021. The appeal, filed on behalf of the Hassouna family, argued that the police had conducted a negligent and flawed investigation with the aim of clearing the suspects of any charges. The AG’s decision stated that, after reviewing the case, she had found no reason to intervene in the decision of the State Attorney's Office. In Adalah’s view, the decision failed to address numerous allegations and evidence of improper considerations taken into account and political pressure that was exerted on the investigators.

CLICK HERE to read the state’s decision [Hebrew]

CLICK HERE to read more about Adalah’s appeal

Closure of Investigation and Appeal

On 21 October 2021, the District Attorney’s Office closed the cases against all five Jewish Israeli suspects implicated in Hassouna’s death: four were cleared of all guilt, and the fifth case was closed based on insufficient evidence. Additionally, the State Attorney’s Office accepted the self-defense claims made by the five suspects.

Adalah filed the appeal to the State Attorney’s Office after uncovering video footage and other material in the investigative files that suggest that prominent Israeli political leaders unlawfully pressured the police during the investigation. Adalah argued that these materials indicate that the police conducted a negligent and flawed investigation with the ultimate goal of exonerating the suspects.

CLICK HERE to read more about the 2022 appeal, and CLICK HERE to view a segment of the video footage with English subtitles that indicates unlawful intervention in the police investigation.

The appeal, filed by Adalah Attorney Nareman Shehadeh-Zoabi, argued that the police had failed to undertake essential investigatory steps, which resulted in an inadequate investigation, including the fact that the suspects were investigated only once, even though substantial facts remained unclear, the ballistic analysis was incomplete, and the police did not gather testimonies from any of the Palestinian witnesses. 

In addition to the appeal, Adalah sent a letter on 28 April 2022 to the Attorney General to demand a prompt investigation into the interference by political figures in the case. To date, over two years later, Adalah has received no response from the AG.

Supreme Court Petition

In January 2024, Adalah filed a petition to the Israeli Supreme Court on behalf of the Hassouna family, urging the Court to order the Appeals Unit at the State Attorney’s Office to disclose its decision on the appeal. The petition followed over a year and a half of inaction and seven consecutive postponements by the State Attorney’s Office in releasing its decision.

HCJ 258/24 Malik Hassouna et al. v.  Appeals Unit at the State Attorney’s Office

CLICK HERE to read more about the petition

Israel’s Attorney General’s Decision to Reject the Appeal 

The appeal was referred to the AG, Gali Baharav-Miara, for her review. The decision stated that the AG had reviewed the evidence and concluded that there was no reason to interfere in the State Attorney’s discretion in closing the case based on the claim that “the evidence does not support a reasonable likelihood of convicting any suspects”. The decision also noted that “the case is factually complex and occurred during a period of severe violence, making it difficult to establish the required factual findings for prosecution.” However, this decision disregarded the numerous investigative flaws raised in the appeal, relied solely on the suspects' claims of self-defense and did not respond to Adalah’s arguments and evidence suggesting unlawful intervention by political figures in the investigation.

This decision and recent developments come at a time when the Israeli government, and in particular the Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir, is ramping up its efforts to arm Jewish-Israeli civilians and ‘civilian’ militias. Ben-Gvir consistently sends a clear message that these ‘civilians’ will not be held accountable for any killing and injuring of Palestinians. 

    CLICK HERE to read more about the arming of Jewish-Israelis

In response, Adalah Attorney Nareman Shehadeh-Zoabi commented:

“The latest decision by the Attorney General is another instance of the inhumane treatment of Israeli authorities towards Mussa Hassouna’s family. It is evident in how the authorities handled their appeal—endlessly postponing it, failing to notify the family of key developments in the case, and now adopting a decision that fails to address most of the claims raised in the appeal. The Attorney General failed to address serious flaws in the investigation highlighted in the appeal, as well as evidence suggesting that the investigation was biased and inadequate and conducted under heavy political pressure, with the aim of exonerating the suspects. The factual findings of the AG’s decision rely almost entirely on the suspects' own accounts, to the extent that it could have been written by their defense lawyers. The AG’s refusal to address the family’s request to investigate the involvement of political figures reflects a troubling disregard for the lives of Palestinian citizens of Israel.”