IDF soldiers (archives)
צילום: AFP
Soldier suspected of punching Palestinian child in head
Military driver serving in Jenin area arrested on suspicion of attacking 12-year-old boy, Ynet learns. Military Advocacy plans to indict him in coming days; attorney says soldier suffering from personal difficulties, did not mean to hurt child
The military police have arrested an Israel Defense Forces Soldiers on suspicion of beating a 12-year-old Palestinian boy and punching him in the head, Ynet learned Monday.
The Jaffa Military Court extended the soldier's remand by three days, and the Military Prosecution plans to indict him in the coming days.
The soldier, who serves as a military driver in the Jenin area, was travelling in the area several days ago when he encountered a number of Palestinian people. He allegedly got out of the car, grabbed one of the children and hit him. During the incident, the soldier allegedly punched the boy in the head, and only released him several minutes later.
The soldier's commanders, who found out about this grave incident, questioned him and reported the incident to the Investigating Military Police.
A military source said that "in such incidents, we carry out a full investigation and ask the court to extent the suspect's remand, as such offenses cause severe damage to the IDF's image."
The soldier was brought before the Jaffa Military Court, where the judge, Major Yifat Tomer, reviewed the evidence and a secret report submitted to her and decided to extend his remand.
The soldier's advocate, Captain Mark Kobel, said that this was not an act of abuse but rather an incident which only lasted a few seconds.
The attorney added that the incident was the result of the soldier's personal difficulties, noting that he did not intent on hurting the child.
The Military Advocacy will discuss the case in the coming days in order to determine the counts the soldier will be charged with.
This incident joins a series of incidents which have taken place in the West Bank recently, in which soldiers hurt Palestinians while deviating from the IDF's values.
The Judea and Samaria Division follows up on such incidents on a weekly basis in a bid to reduce them and draw lessons. "Serving in the territories is difficult and exhausting, and more than once we encounter incidents which do not represent the conduct of the majority of IDF soldiers," a military source said.
"This incident has also been probed by commanders, and was handed over to the IDF's enforcement authorities for a proper investigation. Every incident is studied and probed in order to prevent such incidents from repeating themselves," the source concluded.
