More Mississippi Justice

In a previous post I claimed that the West Bank was like the American Deep South of the 30's 40's and 50s. The Palestinians are the blacks, settlers in the big suburban settlements are the go along everyday racists of Birmingham, Mobile and Jackson, and while the settler militants of Kiryat Arba and some of the smaller settlements are the KKK murders and thugs of Selma, Philadelphia and the rural south. And just as the cops and the courts where complicit - either before or after the fact - with the KKKs terrorizing of blacks, so too the Israeli police, army, and courts protect - or at least turn a blind eye to - settler violence against Palestinians.

Today Haaretz reports:

[The court] announced that it is dropping the indictment against Ze'ev Braude, the West Bank settler who was alleged to have shot two Palestinians at close range during the evacuation of a disputed house in Hebron in December 2008, and was caught on film doing so.

Ze'ev Braude, 51, of Kiryat Arba, is alleged to have shot two Palestinians at close range during the evacuation of a disputed house in Hebron.

Braude, a Kiryat Arba resident, turned himself in to police last week after an activist with the B'Tselem human rights group caught him on film shooting at Palestinians at short range and hitting two.

During the evacuation of the house in Hebron, Braude approached the Matriya family residence, drew his gun and shouted at the family members to go inside, the [original] indictment says.

Hosni Matriya, 44, went up to Braude and told to leave. Braude struck him and aimed his gun at him, said the indictment. Hosni's father, Abed el-Hai, 67, walked up and asked Braude to leave. Braude pushed el-Hai. Other family members came to help push Braude away and he fired at them. The first bullet passed close to one man's head and the second one hit Hosni's chest. A third bullet hit el-Hai's arm. El-Hai and two family members attacked Braude and stopped him from again firing his gun. They held him until Kiryat Arba residents arrived and took him away, the indictment says.

Hosni, who was shot in the chest, is awaiting surgery to take out shrapnel that remains around the wound. El-Hai, whose arm was broken, has been operated on twice and his arm has been set with screws....

Jamal Abu Safan, a relative of the injured Palestinian, told Haaretz that the court's decision shows "how racist Israel and its justice system are."

How can charges merely be dropped in such a case? "Probably there are two sides to this story, or the evidence is not clear," you say.

Well here is the video, referred to in the article. The whole incident, including the shooting, is caught on tape. How, indeed, can the court dismiss this case? Racism and corruption, thats how!