The clash at the checkpoint
WATCH: Masked Israeli youth attack Palestinian in Hebron
IDF soldier detains Palestinian who is wanted for questioning by police, but before the cops could get there, a group of settlers arrive on the scene and attack him.
A Palestinian man was attacked by masked Israeli youth at the Beit Hadassah checkpoint in Hebron on Saturday, as an IDF soldier helplessly tried to separate the man from his attackers.
The Israelis beat him with their fists, kicked him, and one even attacked him with pepper spray.
A Palestinian source speaking to Ynet recounted the chain of events that led to the assault. According to the source, two Palestinians were stopped for questioning by a soldier at the checkpoint. Several minutes later, he let one of them go and took the other with him back to the army post.
That entire time, a group of young Israelis stood nearby.
While the soldier and the Palestinian, 25-year-old Ayman Fahouri, who works as a tour guide and lives in the old city in Hebron, were standing at the army post, the young Israelis, some masked, approached them and started brutally beating Fahouri.
Video obtained by Ynet shows the soldier helpless in his attempts to stop the attackers. Later, Fahouri is seen trying to escape to the road and one of the Israelis confronting him and spraying pepper spray in his face.
At that point, Fahouri collapsed and the Israelis started running away, with the soldier chasing them. The Palestinian source claimed the Israelis escaped into Beit Hadassah and were not arrested.
Army and police forces that arrived at the scene following the Palestinians' report of the attack reportedly told the Palestinians they did not intend to handle the incident until the end of Shabbat.
Fahouri was taken to the Alia Government Hospital in Hebron.
An initial investigation into the incident by the Hebron territorial brigade found that a Givati soldier identified two Palestinians around noon time and asked to check their IDs. The soldier discovered one of them was wanted for questioning by the police, so he detained the man until police could arrive.
At this point, the Palestinian started lashing out and behaving violently, and then a group of masked Jewish men arrived at the scene, and started hitting him, despite the soldier's attempts to stop them. One of the masked men sprayed the Palestinian with pepper spray, which also hit the soldier.
The masked men then fled, and police has been searching the area for them.
That part of the street near Beit Hadassah is covered with IDF security cameras, which documented the incident and could help in the investigation.
The specific spot where the incident occurred has been the center of other violent incidents due to the high friction between soldiers, settlers and Palestinians. One of the more famous incidents was when a Nahal soldier threatened Palestinian rioters with his weapon and swore at them in front of the cameras.
IDF officials said in response: "In the noon hours, a Palestinian arrived at the Beit Hadassah checkpoint in Hebron. He was detained for a routine check by a soldier, and police was called to the scene. While he was detained, the Palestinian tried to start a riot, and settlers that arrived at the scene attacked him. The soldier tried to pull them apart, and then the settlers used pepper spray. The Palestinian escaped to a nearby house and from there was taken by the Red Crescent to receive medical treatment. The incident is being investigated by the Judea and Samaria Police and will be investigated by the IDF as well."
