Yesh Din data indicates that in 2013 the Military Police Criminal Investigations Department (MPCID) opened 199 investigations into incidents in which IDF soldiers were suspected of committing criminal offenses against Palestinians and their property. Of those, only six led to indictments against the soldiers involved.

A multi-year review of the data shows that there has been a significant drop in the rate of indictments issued against soldiers, with only 2.2 percent of the investigation files opened regarding incidents that harmed Palestinians between 2010 and 2013 leading to indictments.

In 2013, various entities submitted 239 complaints (“notices”) to the MPCID regarding suspicions of criminal offenses allegedly committed by IDF soldiers against Palestinians. Only six of these were directly submitted by Palestinians and the rest through intermediaries. In accordance with the IDF’s policy for opening investigations, not all of the complaints led to criminal investigations; and only 124 of the incidents reported in 2013 were investigated. Another 75 investigations were opened in 2013 following notices from 2012 – which means that almost 40 percent of the investigations were opened several months after the actual incidents took place.

A review of the data from all the notices submitted to the MPCID shows how slim the chances are for a complaint by a Palestinian to ultimately lead to soldiers being indicted: Only 1.4% of all the notices submitted to the MPCID between 2010 and 2013 led to indictments. Of course this does not take into account incidents that were never reported to the MPCID in the first place.

Of all the investigation files the MPCID opened in 2013, 15 (7 percent of all investigations) were opened into incidents involving Palestinian deaths; 152 investigation files (76 percent of all the investigations) were opened following violence and injury; and 18 files (9 percent of all the investigations) were opened as a result of complaints of property damage or looting. In addition, 14 investigation files were opened following incidents defined by the IDF Spokesperson as “inappropriate behavior.”