Top cop admits not thrilled with footage of officers beating Muslims in al-Aqsa

Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai appears to admit that officers should not have beaten apprehended Palestinians in the al-Aqsa Mosque last week.

In a Kan public broadcaster interview, Shabtai defends the decision by police to enter the mosque, and says additional force was necessary in order to subdue the roughly 400 rioters who had barricaded themselves inside the mosque with weapons.

“Am I happy with the pictures that came out of there? No,” Shabtai admits. “We’re probing the incident and will learn from it.”

Still, he insists that the officers were not the ones who desecrated the holy site, as opposed to the minority of Palestinian rioters.

הפלסטינים מדווחים – שוטרים עם אלות מכים מתפללים ללא אבחנה באלות ובנשק, אחרי שנכנסו למסגד. pic.twitter.com/QZooMwaXsk

— Deiaa haj yahia-ضياء حاج يحيى (@DeiaaHaj) April 4, 2023