Description

The Palestinian man was filming the soldier stationed in Hebron on behalf of the Israeli human rights group Betselem when the initial incident took place.

By Chaim Levinson and DPA for Haaretz

An IDF soldier was sentenced to ten days of incarceration in an army jail for throwing stones at a Palestinian man in Hebron. According to the website Hakol Hayehudi, the soldier was guarding a IDF station in the city when a Palestinian cameraman working for Israeli human rights group Betzelem began to film him.

In the one-minute-long film, which Betzelem uploaded to its YouTube channel on Thursday, the solider is seem to respond with little amusement to the filming, and at one point he tosses a rock in the direction of the cameraman.

About 800 Jewish settlers, protected by a heavy Israeli military presence, live in Hebron's historic centre, among tens of thousands of Palestinians. The city was divided into Israeli- and Palestinian-controlled sectors under a 1997 agreement.

The Palestinian man submitted a complaint to the army, and in response the commander of the soldier’s battalion decided to jail him for ten days.

An IDF Spokesperson relayed, “Upon receipt of the video and a complaint in the matter, an investigation was launched in order to identify the soldier and bring him to justice. It was a serious incident, in complete opposition to the army’s instructions, the spirit of IDF, and what is expected of IDF soldiers. The IDF rejects all unnecessary acts of violence.”

Dozens of Israeli settlers attacked a shop in the West Bank belonging to a Palestinian man freed as part of a prisoner swap deal last month, locals said Sunday.

The settlers threw objects and rocks at the shop, according to Palestinian residents. Police intervened in clashes that broke out on Saturday after the incident between Jewish settlers and Palestinian residents, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told DPA.