Zulat for Equality and Human Rights, the Movement for Freedom of Information, and the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel filed an administrative petition with the Jerusalem District Court against the Israel Police and their Freedom of Information Officer, seeking disclosure of data, procedures, and guidelines concerning searches conducted by police on protesters, particularly full or partial strip searches.
The petition was filed after a Freedom of Information request seeking to determine the scope of searches conducted since 2020 and the rules governing them received only a partial response. The police refused to provide the data, claiming that there was “no computerized way” to extract it, without specifying what steps had been taken to locate the information or considering a partial disclosure. With respect to the procedures and guidelines, the police referred the petitioners to its website, even though the requested documents had not been posted there at all.
The petition follows numerous reports in recent years of protesters who were arrested during or following demonstrations and subjected to strip searches, in some cases even when suspected of minor offenses related to the demonstration itself. The petition argues that the number of reported cases raises concerns that these are not isolated incidents but part of a broader, abusive, and degrading practice that may be used to deter citizens from participating in protests and have a chilling effect on freedom of expression and assembly.
The petition emphasizes that a strip search is one of the most intrusive and harmful law-enforcement powers available to the police, seriously infringing on human dignity, privacy, and bodily autonomy. When such a power is used against people exercising their right to protest against the government, transparency and oversight of police conduct become all the more important. Without the relevant data and procedures, the public cannot know how frequently this extreme measure is used, under what circumstances, or whether the police are acting in accordance with the law and their own directives.
The petitioners argue that the police cannot suffice with a technical claim that there is no computerized means of extracting the information, particularly when the police’s own directives require the documentation of searches. The absence of systematic documentation cannot be used as a tool to prevent public scrutiny of the exercise of governmental power. This is all the more worrisome in light of growing concerns about political interference in police operations and harm to police independence, particularly in the exercise of law-enforcement powers in anti-government protests.
The petitioners ask the court to order the police to provide at once all of the requested data and documents. Alternatively, they ask the court to require the police to shortly submit a full and reasoned response supported by an affidavit from the relevant officials, and to hold an expedited hearing on the petition. The aim is to ensure that the use of the police’s most intrusive search powers is subject to transparency, public oversight, and judicial review, and that the Freedom of Information Law does not become a dead letter precisely where scrutiny of the exercise of state power against citizens is most needed.
Subsequent Developments:
A hearing on the petition will be held on 1.11.26.
