Footage emerges of Palestinians assaulting off-duty cops in Jerusalem
Four more residents of Issawiya neighborhood reportedly arrested for attacking officers as they drove through area Wednesday evening
Video footage released Thursday evening showed a number of Palestinians from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya pursuing and attacking off-duty Israeli police officers.
The incident occurred on Wednesday night as the Border Police officers, who were in civilian clothes, drove through Issawiya. According to Channel 12 news, they apparently fired their guns in the air for unknown reasons.
A group of Palestinians then pursued them to the adjacent French Hill neighborhood, which is predominantly Jewish.
Footage released by Channel 13 news showed the assailants hurling bricks at the vehicle, smashing the windows, and pulling the driver out of the car. They can then be seen continuing to beat him, leaving him with light injuries for which he required hospitalization.
As one of the officers shot in the air, another had his firearm briefly snatched away, reports said.
“The assailants threw blocks, broke the car’s windshield and tried to tear apart the doors. At one point they managed to break in, grabbed the driver and started strangling him. It took a good few minutes until we managed to get hold of the police,” Bar, a resident of the French Hill neighborhood who witnessed the incident, told Channel 12.
“One of the officers shot in the air to keep them away. We made sure our front door was locked and closed the blinds… it was very stressful,” she added.
הערב במהדורה: לינץ' על שוטר בשידור חי. תושבי עיסאוויה פלסטינים רדפו אחרי שוטר מג"ב שלא בתפקיד שנכנס בטעות לשכונה. זרקו בלוקים, גנבו לו את הנשק, הוציאו אותו מהרכב והחלו לבצע לינץ' על הרצפה, חנקו אותו ולא הפסיקו לבעוט בו.
הוא פונה לבית החולים.
באמצע שכונה יהודית הגבעה הצרפתית pic.twitter.com/6FPIh7jEqL— Yossi Eli יוסי אלי (@Yossi_eli) June 9, 2022
A large number of police officers were deployed to the area following the incident and the missing pistol was eventually recovered.
Three residents of Issawiya were reportedly arrested shortly after the incident. One of the three suspects, a 17-year-old minor, was released. Police have asked that the other two, ages 22 and 25, remain in custody until Sunday.
According to the Walla news site, four other Issawiya residents suspected of taking part in the attack were arrested Thursday night.
“It doesn’t matter if the suspects knew they were police officers or thought they were civilians,” said a police official quoted on Channel 12. “The fact that they did not hesitate to carry out the attack in the middle of the street should raise a red flag. If it turns out the suspects arrested are the ones involved, they will need to be severely punished.”
Tensions have risen sharply between Israel and the Palestinians in recent months against the backdrop of repeated terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank that left 19 people dead.
In Jerusalem, fears of violence rose last month surrounding a nationalist march to mark the anniversary of Israel capturing East Jerusalem in 1967. Tensions in the city have since calmed somewhat.
