IDF probing soldiers’ suspected assault of Arab Israeli truck driver in West Bank
Video shows troops violently manhandling the man after he reportedly refused to identify himself; military says unit ‘responded disproportionately’
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The IDF said it was investigating several soldiers after a video surfaced showing them behaving violently toward an Arab Israeli man.
According to the Ynet news site, the soldiers, who were on a routine deployment in the Palestinian village of Hizma northeast of Jerusalem on Thursday, began to manhandle the truck driver, supposedly after he refused to identify himself to them.
A video showed five soldiers pulling at his shirt, pushing him and hitting him with the butts of their weapons.
Passersby told Ynet that the driver did nothing that could have endangered the force — and that the soldiers attacked him for no reason.
An eyewitness who was near the scene said that the man did not know what the soldiers wanted from him and didn’t know how to react. “You can’t just attack a person like that, such soldiers must be interrogated before they do this again to the people,” he told Ynet.
חיזמא- חיילי הכיבוש הכו בקתות רובים, נהג משאית, בכיכר עוריבה בחיזמא, הם ירו באוויר והקימו אחר כך מחסום צבאי. pic.twitter.com/Dn5mTp22Rn
— رسالة – רסאלה (@RISALA_2) April 21, 2022
The website cited an unnamed source with knowledge of the incident as saying the man had punched the soldiers, adding that he did not require medical attention after his detention.
Following the report, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said that the military will investigate the incident.
“A preliminary inquiry shows the force responded disproportionately and not in accordance with procedures. The incident will be investigated in depth and handled accordingly,” a statement said.
The Times of Israel Community.