Nearly a month after footage emerged showing police officers beating and ripping the pants of protesters during a Chareidi protest on Route 4 near Bnei Brak, promises by the Chareidi parties to address the incident have yet to materialize, Kikar H’Shabbat reported.

UTJ MK Uri Maklev’s proposal to establish a parliamentary commission of inquiry was removed from the Knesset plenum’s agenda just hours before it was scheduled for debate, with no public explanation provided.

Shas MK Yoav Ben Tzur had submitted a separate parliamentary motion called: “Disturbing Footage of Severe Violence by Uniformed Officers Against Protesters, Some Already Subdued.” Unlike Maklev’s proposal, Ben Tzur’s motion was approved by the Knesset plenum and referred to the National Security Committee. However, committee chairman Otzma Yehudit MK Tzvika Fogel has yet to convene a discussion on the matter, and no date has been scheduled.

Meanwhile, however, the committee has continued to hold hearings on other issues, including a proposal regarding treatment for post-traumatic stress among Israel Police officers, a motion that was approved after Ben Tzur’s proposal. On Monday, the committee held a special session on “Selective Enforcement, Lenient Sentencing, And Support For Terrorism By Institutions Of The Israel Bar Association.”

Sources familiar with the political system told Kikar H’Shabbat they were puzzled by the continued delay.

According to those sources, with elections approaching and Otzma Yehudit seeking to attract votes from Chareidi voters dissatisfied with the Chareidi parties, questions are being raised as to whether Fogel is reluctant to hold a public hearing in which allegations of selective enforcement and police violence against Chareidim could be aired, potentially harming his party.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)