East Jerusalem resident sues after police plant gun in house during TV filming

An eastern Jerusalem resident is suing the Israeli police for planting a gun in his home while filming an episode of a reality television show.

“Jerusalem District,” which purports to show the police in real-life situations and is produced by Israel’s public broadcaster, followed a team of officers late last year as they raided Samer Sleiman’s home in the Arab neighbourhood of Isawiyah. The episode, which aired late last month, showed policemen finding a rifle. Sleiman was surprised, as he was not charged and the police had told him they had not found anything.

Later it was revealed that the police had planted the weapon after coming up empty-handed. The idea was proposed by a member of the production staff that was accompanying the police and approved by the senior officer present.

Haaretz reported that Sleiman had received a phone call by someone who had identified himself as a policeman threatening him not to speak with the media. The police have apologised.