On 28 Jan. 2009, soldiers who had mounted an ambush happened upon Sharif
Abu Hayah, 66, as he grazed his flock near his village. The soldiers
assaulted him, handcuffed him, covered his face, and dragged him on the
ground. On 17 Feb. 2009 B’Tselem applied to the Military Advocacy for
Operational Affairs demanding an investigation. An investigation was
opened that very day, yet three years later it was closed with no
measures taken against anyone involved in the assault. Like so many
other cases, the system operated as a whitewash mechanism, as described
in our report The Occupation’s Fig Leaf.