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"Law enforcement authorities have become complicit in violating Palestinian rights; in many cases, they do not enforce the law or do so only in a discriminatory manner."
A police spokesman refuted all the allegations.
"The Israeli police patrol those areas on a 24/7 basis," Micky Rosenfeld told AFP. "We respond to any incident that takes place ... including making arrests whenever necessary."
The report, posted online at www.acri.org.il, said police rarely investigate incidents in which Jewish settlers harass or assault Palestinians and that when they do they frequently blame the victims of such attacks.
Among several cases the group documented is that of Ahmad Qaraen, who was crippled after being shot in both legs by an off-duty Israeli soldier after intervening in a confrontation between the soldier and his sons last September.
The soldier also shot a 15-year-old boy in the leg during the incident, but was detained for just 24 hours after telling Israeli police that he shot Qaraen in self-defence after the Arab tried to steal his M-16 assault rifle.
The police questioned Qaraen in hospital but did not press any charges in the case.
"Despite the fact that the incident was recorded by security cameras installed in the City of David and despite the abundance of witnesses, the police decided to close the investigation because of 'lack of evidence,'" the report said.
It said Qaraen had filed an appeal to reopen the case.
The report also documented what it called a "disturbing picture" of Arab minors being arrested in the middle of the night and subjected to physical abuse in police stations.
In one such case, a 12-year-old boy said he was arrested at his home at 3 am and placed in a stress position at a police station cell for more than two hours, during which time an interrogator had slammed his face into a wall.
Rosenfeld insisted that in all cases where a minor was arrested, it was the result of hard intelligence and the correct procedure was followed.
"When they were arrested their parents were brought in with them, meaning their fathers," he said. "They were escorted by their fathers during questioning and later released."
Rosenfeld said that in every case the youngsters confessed to offences and were subsequently charged.
Israel occupied east Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it to its capital in a move not recognised by the international community.
The Palestinians have demanded the mainly Arab eastern half of the city as the capital of their future state, and Jerusalem's status has been one of the most intractable issues in past rounds of Middle East peace talks.
About 200,000 Israeli settlers reside alongside 270,000 Palestinians in east Jerusalem.
The vast majority live in large, mostly Jewish settlements. But small groups of hardline settlers have moved into crowded Palestinian neighbourhoods in and around the Old City in recent years, heightening tensions.
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A police spokesman refuted all the allegations.
"The Israeli police patrol those areas on a 24/7 basis," Micky Rosenfeld told AFP. "We respond to any incident that takes place ... including making arrests whenever necessary."
The report, posted online at www.acri.org.il, said police rarely investigate incidents in which Jewish settlers harass or assault Palestinians and that when they do they frequently blame the victims of such attacks.
Among several cases the group documented is that of Ahmad Qaraen, who was crippled after being shot in both legs by an off-duty Israeli soldier after intervening in a confrontation between the soldier and his sons last September.
The soldier also shot a 15-year-old boy in the leg during the incident, but was detained for just 24 hours after telling Israeli police that he shot Qaraen in self-defence after the Arab tried to steal his M-16 assault rifle.
The police questioned Qaraen in hospital but did not press any charges in the case.
"Despite the fact that the incident was recorded by security cameras installed in the City of David and despite the abundance of witnesses, the police decided to close the investigation because of 'lack of evidence,'" the report said.
It said Qaraen had filed an appeal to reopen the case.
The report also documented what it called a "disturbing picture" of Arab minors being arrested in the middle of the night and subjected to physical abuse in police stations.
In one such case, a 12-year-old boy said he was arrested at his home at 3 am and placed in a stress position at a police station cell for more than two hours, during which time an interrogator had slammed his face into a wall.
Rosenfeld insisted that in all cases where a minor was arrested, it was the result of hard intelligence and the correct procedure was followed.
"When they were arrested their parents were brought in with them, meaning their fathers," he said. "They were escorted by their fathers during questioning and later released."
Rosenfeld said that in every case the youngsters confessed to offences and were subsequently charged.
Israel occupied east Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it to its capital in a move not recognised by the international community.
The Palestinians have demanded the mainly Arab eastern half of the city as the capital of their future state, and Jerusalem's status has been one of the most intractable issues in past rounds of Middle East peace talks.
About 200,000 Israeli settlers reside alongside 270,000 Palestinians in east Jerusalem.
The vast majority live in large, mostly Jewish settlements. But small groups of hardline settlers have moved into crowded Palestinian neighbourhoods in and around the Old City in recent years, heightening tensions.
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