Police on Sunday questioned Jewish settlers, caught on camera attacking a Palestinian man in the West Bank, who was then rescued by an IDF soldier.
Israeli authorities opened an investigation after video footage emerged showing a group of settler youth attacking the Palestinian at a checkpoint near a Jewish settlement in Hebron on Friday evening. The footage shows the man was later rescued by an Israeli soldier from the Golani Brigade.
Footage shows IDF soldier rescuing Palestinian from settlers
Attorney Itamar Ben Gvir (leader of Otzma Yehudit party), who represents one of the suspects, said the Palestinian is "not as innocent" as he appears to be.
Already there is an indication that the Arab citizen caught on camera is not as innocent as they [the police] were trying to present him to be," Ben Gvir said. "He had earlier struck a number of young people and they responded."
The victim, Ibrahim Badr, told Ynet he was talking on his phone just outside his house, when a group of "seven or eight" settlers surrounded him.
"None of them spoke to me, they just started beating me and I tried to defend myself," he said. "The soldier did indeed rescue me from their hands, but even after more forces were called to the scene, nobody arrested the attackers and they are still free."
According to the army's preliminary investigation, the soldier was also targeted by the settlers for rescuing the Palestinian and calling for backup.
The IDF and even Defense Minister Benny Gantz both issued statements fully backing the soldier's actions and called on the settlement's officials to condemn the actions of the youths.
"The Golani soldier who protected a Palestinian resident in Hebron acted as every soldier and commander in the IDF should in this situation," said Gantz on his Twitter account. "The IDF is committed to the safety of civilians wherever it operates, and I trust the IDF commanding officers to investigate the incident in an orderly manner."