The Main Points of Alik Ron’s Testimony Before the Or Commission Prepared by Adalah: The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel

Alik Ron, Northern District Police Commander, testified before the Or Commission for two days – Monday and Tuesday 3-4 September 2001. The main points of Ron’s testimony follow:

• Ron admitted that he ordered the use of a snipers' squad in Umm al-Fahem on 2 October 2000. Ron handed down this instruction after the killing of two Palestinian citizen demonstrators in Umm al-Fahem, and in accordance with discussions held with Prime Minister Ehud Barak, at an early morning meeting at Barak's home between 1^st and 2^nd of October 2000.

• Ron claimed that the reason for bringing the snipers to Umm al-Fahem was to counter possible gunfire from the demonstrators in Umm al-Fahem. In response to a Commission member’s question as to whether there was any gunfire from the demonstrators, Ron answered, “No.”

• Ron testified that he agreed to pull the police and snipers from the Umm al-Fahem area and to close the street, after realizing that the sniper fire did not deter the demonstrators.  The Commission members followed-up on this testimony by asking whether the snipers were ordered to the area for the purpose of deterrence, rather than to confront an imminent threat to life. Ron answered that deterrence was incidental to the use of snipers.

• When asked by Commission members if he sent snipers to Nazareth, Ron replied, “No.” The members of the Commission confronted Ron with the prior testimonies of two senior officers: Moshe Valdman, Commander of the Valleys District (near Nazareth in the north), who told the Commission that he received the order from Ron to send snipers to Nazareth, and the Head of the Snipers’ Squad, who testified that he reported to Ron after sniper fire. 

• Ron admitted that he ordered officers to shoot at demonstrators who were using slingshots. According to Ron, however, the slingshot shooters were 150-200 meters away from the police. Ron stated that he gave a general order to shoot at the legs of the slingshot shooters, and not a specific order, targeting a specific individual, who constituted a specific threat to life or who posed a serious and imminent danger.

• Ron acknowledged that the snipers used more lethal bullets, 0.726 m.m., rather than less dangerous live ammunition such as 0.22 m.m. bullets.

• Ron admitted that he did not report the use of snipers to his superiors.

• Ron testified that at the time, Prime Minister Barak received briefings from the ground via Chief of Staff, Vilk.

• Ron complained that he was sent by the government to handle the demonstrations, which later betrayed him.

• When asked by the Commission members to explain why the police failed to write reports about the events in towns where demonstrators were killed and live ammunition used but did write reports concerning other places, Ron replied that the police were preoccupied with and tired from the demonstrations.