IDF probing reservists who allegedly beat West Bank Palestinian

The IDF is investigating the conduct of reservist forces who allegedly beat a Palestinian man in the West Bank earlier this week, causing a “disturbing” amount of injuries.

On Wednesday, Owais Hamam, 18, from the village of Khirbet Bani Hairth, was wandering in the area, close to the recently legalized Sde Ephraim Farm settlement. He has claimed he went to the nearby hills to pray.

The army says it received reports of a Palestinian suspect approaching Israeli civilians, “while shouting slogans about martyrs and expressing an intention to carry out an attack.” A military source claimed that the man was suffering from a mental illness.

Soldiers of the IDF’s so-called area defense force, known by its Hebrew acronym Hagmar — made up of local settlers in reserve duty — who were already in the area, alongside Sde Ephraim’s security coordinator, called on the man to leave.

According to the military, the reservist soldiers fired in the air, but the suspect continued to approach them. “The reserve soldiers struggled with the suspect physically until they were able to arrest him,” the IDF says.

When additional IDF troops arrived, they took the man to the Shin Bet for questioning, the military says.

The IDF says that “the conduct of the reserve forces during the incident is being investigated and actions will be taken in accordance with the findings.”

A military source says that the suspect’s “numerous injuries” are “disturbing and will be closely examined.”

However, they also note that according to the reservists, the suspect had fallen over on the rocks while approaching and was injured by that as well.

Hamam, speaking from a hospital bed, said that settlers kidnapped him, punched him, and beat him with an M-16 rifle as they threatened to kill him.