ACRI Demands Police Probe After Snipers Documented Aiming at Haifa Civilians
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel demanded an investigation into the Israel Police after snipers were photographed pointing weapons at civilians in Haifa.
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) has demanded that the Israel Police investigate the deployment of snipers in Haifa and the pointing of their weapons at civilians, as documented in photographs published by the police themselves.
ACRI Inquiry and Police Response
In a letter sent on September 9, attorney Yael Zeidman addressed Coastal District Commander Yechiel Bohdana, Carmel Sub-District Commander Boaz Samucha, and Police Legal Advisor Eran Nahon. The inquiry focuses on a September 4 post on the official Facebook page of the Haifa station, showing officers apparently aiming weapons from concealed positions behind fences and walls at civilians and vehicles while other officers questioned the occupants.
The accompanying text stated that sniper teams were deployed in central locations across Haifa to thwart criminal activity in real time. ACRI noted that the operation aimed to strengthen governance and security, but argued that such goals do not justify aiming weapons at civilians who pose no apparent threat.
The only apparent danger was to the lives and physical integrity of the citizens toward whom the police officers directed their weapons while seated in their vehicles, ACRI stated in its letter.
Prior Incidents and Regulations
The association's letter also recalled two previous controversial incidents in Haifa: a July 2024 episode where an officer on the roof of the Horev Center allegedly aimed a weapon at demonstrators, and a June 25 incident involving a Border Police officer on a rooftop during the city's Pride Parade.
ACRI cited police weapons safety regulations, which stipulate that a weapon must not be pointed at a person except during operational activity requiring gunfire. The Israel Police responded that the formal reply to ACRI will be delivered through authorized channels and not via the media, noting that the heightened security measures were deployed following severe criminal incidents and murders in the area.
