IDF chief praises soldier for protecting Palestinian from Hebron settlers

Army chief Aviv Kohavi is giving unqualified backing to a Golani Brigades soldier who was photographed defending a Palestinian man being attacked by settlers in Hebron over the weekend.

“The chief of staff praised the behavior of the soldier, who acted as expected of an IDF soldier and stopped harm from coming to a Palestinian civilian,” a joint statement from the army and police says.

Police chief Moti Cohen says in the statement that troops and border police officers are working to locate and prosecute anyone involved in violent activity.

In video footage of the incident, a group of Israelis can be seen attacking the Palestinian, later identified as Ibrahim Bader, with one of them putting him in a headlock as others hit and kick him.

Watch: An Israeli soldier rescues a Palestinian guy who was brutally attacked last night by a group of religious Israeli youths in the Old City of Hebron pic.twitter.com/O7zcjnekHy

— Elior Levy • אליאור לוי (@eliorlevy) June 13, 2020

The soldier then runs toward the group, pushing one of the Israelis aside and trying to help Bader out of the headlock. The soldier then appears to be hit by the man he pushed.

As the soldier escorts Bader to safety, some of the Israelis run after them. A number of them try to strike Bader, while the soldier continues to try to distance him from the group.

According to Channel 12 news, the identities of perpetrators of the attack in the West Bank city of Hebron are known to the police, and law enforcement officers went to their homes on Saturday evening. However, none of the suspects were home, the report said.