Officer beating activist
Video: IDF officer beats activist with M-16 rifle
Video uploaded by Palestinians shows lieutenant-colonel beating foreign activist in the face with his weapon. One activist says victim is Danish citizen who required stitches. IDF: Thorough investigation ordered
Palestinians and leftist activists are claiming that a high-ranking IDF
officer beat a foreign activist with his weapon in an incident documented in a youtube video. The IDF Spokesperson's Unit described the incident as "serious" and noted that a full and thorough investigation had been ordered.
According to the activists, the event took place on Saturday when a group of Palestinians and left-wing activists were riding bicycles together in the Jordan Valley. They claimed that the IDF had prevented them from traveling on Route 90 and that the ride was in protest of the ban.
According to the activists, some 20 minutes into the ride, they were stopped by an IDF force. They claim they had tried to resume the ride in a non-violent manner but were assaulted by the soldiers. At this point, the video shows an IDF officer, a lieutenant-colonel, beating one of the activists with an M-16 rifle. Three activists were taken to hospital following the incident.
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One of the activists, who took part in the bicycle ride, said that the victim is a Danish citizen and that he had required stitches in his lip. She added that they were riding on Route 90 to protest the movement limitations and general harassment of Palestinians traveling on the road.
She noted that the IDF officer seen beating the activist was the "most violent figure in the scene as well as the commanding force." A Palestinian woman and a Dutch activist were also injured in the incident, she said.
The IDF Spokesperson's unit said in response the event was very serious and that the Central Command chief had ordered a thorough investigation. "The inquiry will examine the circumstances which led to the incident documented in the video. Lessons will be drawn and the necessary steps will be taken."
Yoav Zitun contributed to this report
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