2 soldiers suspected of abusing Palestinians
Palestinians injured in clashes that broke out with armored battalion troops at Jordan Valley checkpoint say soldiers bound them, 'kicked them all over'. Soldiers claim Palestinians arrived at checkpoint drunk, tried to snatch one of their weapons. Judge extends suspects' remand
Two soldiers who serve in the IDF's armored battalion are suspected of beating Palestinians at a checkpoint in the Jordan Valley. The soldiers' commanders, who investigated the incident, have already decided to dismiss the soldiers from their combat positions, but the Military Advocate General suspects a criminal offense.
The soldiers' remand was extended by the military court on Tuesday, and Palestinian testimonies given to the B'Tselem human rights organization paint a grim picture of severe abuse.
The incident occurred some two-and-a-half weeks ago, when a dozen Palestinians arrived at a checkpoint near the Dead Sea where three of the battalion's soldiers were stationed and a confrontation broke out.
The soldiers, who were unable to contain the Palestinians, called for backup and the confrontation turned violent.
According to the Palestinians, they had parked their car near the checkpoint, were detained for no reason, and were hit while bound. "Three soldiers attacked me, one of them dealt me a blow with his weapon and I started bleeding," said Ata Erikat.
Erikat's friends Ramzi Salah said, "Soldiers were kicking Ata, one threw a stone on his shoulder. When he fell down and sat near the pole, a soldier kicked his head and his head bumped into the pole…
Ata Erikat's bruises (Photo: Kareem Jubran, B'Tselem)
"Then one of the soldiers got on Ata's shoulder and quickly approached me and kicked me hard in the face. Out of fear and pain I tugged hard on the cable ties that were binding me to the signpost. The cable ties tore and I fell.
"I put my hands on my face to protect it. The soldiers kicked me all over my body. Shortly afterwards two soldiers grabbed me, sat me down on a chair and put cable ties on my wrists again. I sat like that till morning," he added.
In their remand hearing, the Military Police investigator said the soldiers claimed in their testimony that the Palestinians tried to snatch one of their weapons. They also said the Palestinians were drunk and one of them even managed to get out of the cable ties they placed on his wrists.
The soldiers' attorneys David Schwarzbaum, Major Anat Weinberg and Major Avi Finerski of the military defense claimed the incident was not nationalistically motivated: "This is about a bunch of drunk youths that arrived at a military checkpoint near a place where the soldiers were, and they began cursing them and threatening them."
The defense further argued that the soldiers were in danger and called for backup that used restricted violence in order to stop the Palestinians. The lawyers said the request to have the soldiers arrested did not reflect the reality of the situation and gave the impression that the prosecution only wished to arrest the soldiers because Palestinians were involved.
Judge Major Carmel Wahabi said the investigation was opened after a complaint was filed by B'tselem, and in light of the evidence and the confidential report he had received, the two suspects should be kept behind bars.
