IDF soldier filmed kicking, shoving Palestinian boys
Military says it will launch investigation into Hebron incident, condemns violent behavior
Adiv Sterman is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.
An IDF soldier was filmed Saturday kicking and slapping a Palestinian boy and shoving another at the Tel Rumeida neighborhood in the West Bank city of Hebron.
In a video uploaded Sunday to YouTube by the pro-Palestinian group International Solidarity Movement, the soldier, a commander in the Kfir Brigade according to reports, can be seen pushing a young boy away, before clasping the head of another boy, kicking him in the leg, then slapping him. A few seconds later, the soldier is seen chasing after several other children who are not visible in the frame.
The soldier’s identity was not revealed and it was unclear what led to the incident.
An statement issued by the IDF spokesman’s office condemned the soldier’s violent behavior. The IDF will launch an investigation of the matter in the coming days, Channel 10 News reported.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZrlKo_PGMI
In June, IDF soldiers in Hebron detained a 5-year-old boy for throwing rocks at Jewish motorists and later handcuffed and blindfolded his father. Videos of the incident, filmed by several activists working with the human rights group B’Tselem, were uploaded to YouTube and quickly went viral, sparking online criticism of the army’s conduct.
