JERUSALEM (AP) - About one of every 12 Israeli police investigations into complaints of offenses against Palestinians in the West Bank resulted in indictments, a human rights group said Wednesday.

The group, Yesh Din, said its study raises questions about the ability of Israeli police in the West Bank to properly investigate harm done to Palestinians by Israeli civilians. Police questioned the group's methodology.

The group investigated 163 police files of complaints by Palestinians against Israeli citizens, mostly over the past four years, finding that indictments were handed down in only 13 cases - about 8 percent.

Israel is in charge of security in most of the West Bank, including in areas of tension between Jewish settlers and Palestinian residents. There are frequent reports of settlers harassing Palestinians, including beatings and property damage. In recent weeks activists have caught two such beatings in video recordings.

Danny Poleg, spokesman for the Israel's West Bank police force, questioned the focus on the 163 files.

He said in a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press that of 195 investigations of attacks against Palestinians last year, indictments were reached in 30 cases - about 15 percent of investigations.

Yesh Din said police do not provide breakdowns of Palestinian complaints, prompting them to follow individual cases.

The complaints studied by Yesh Din were mostly Israeli civilians assaulting Palestinians or trespassing on their land, sometimes damaging crops and cutting down trees, the report said.

Most cases were closed because police could not find the perpetrator or for lack of evidence. In most cases where a Jewish Israeli suspect offered an alibi, the police did not investigate further, said a researcher for the group, Lior Yavne.

"The fact is that Israeli civilians in the West Bank are aware they can get pretty much away with everything," Yavne said.