IDF disciplines soldiers seen beating Palestinian during violent disturbance
Kfir infantry brigade commander Col. Asher Ben Lulu says that the decision to arrest the man, who seized a commander's gun, was right, but the way in which the arrest occurred was wrong.
By YAAKOV LAPPINUpdated: MARCH 26, 2018 17:24IDF investigating soldiers involved in video showing beating of Palestinian
The IDF on Sunday tried and punished four soldiers involved in an incident on Friday in which a Palestinian man was struck and verbally assaulted during a violent disturbance.Kfir infantry brigade commander Col. Asher Ben Lulu concluded an in-depth investigation into an incident, which was captured on film, in the West Bank village of Jalazun.The investigation included the commander of the battalion involved in the incident and all of the soldiers who took part. The army concluded that the incident occurred in the course of a lengthy violent disturbance that lasted for several hours, during which rioters hurled firebombs and large rocks at soldiers. A platoon commander was injured by a rock thrown at his face and suffered a suspected eye socket bone fracture.The Palestinian man seen in the video approached the soldiers and attempted to create a provocation, the investigation found. “After ignoring calls by soldiers to stop, and grabbing the weapon of one of the commanders, commanders decided to utilize force to arrest him,” the army said.Ben Lulu concluded that the decision to arrest the man was correct, but the manner in which the arrest was carried out was wrong. The brigade commander condemned the way in which one of the solders spoke to the man, saying it contravened IDF values and the army’s expectations of conduct by soldiers.Two soldiers exercised disproportionate force during the arrest, Ben Lulu said. A total of four soldiers were tried for the incident. The company commander received a verbal rebuke, a soldier seen cursing the man was confined by his battalion commander to base for 30 days. The battalion commander sentenced two soldiers found to have used disproportionate force to a suspended sentence of 28 days in army prison.