B’Tselem just released disturbing footage of a Border Police officer kicking a Palestinian child while another officer holds him on the streets of occupied Hebron. The video was shot last Friday June 29 by a B’Tselem activist, from the window of his house, adjacent to the Tomb of the Patriarchs. According to B’Tselem, the person started shooting the video upon noticing a border police officer hiding behind the wall.
The name of the child is Abed a-Rahman and he is only 9 years old. You can see the policeman at the start of the video appear, then disappear, and then reappear at about 1:22 when he runs to grab the child and says: “Why are you causing trouble?” As the policeman holds the crying boy, another policeman comes and kicks him. The child is then released and runs away and the policemen disperse. B’Tselem is filing a complaint against the two men with the Police Investigation Department.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTzB1N_EZXU[/youtube]
UPDATE: Now that the video has been widely circulated and made it into mainstream Israel media, Border Police has responded with an official statement:
The Border Police denounces the policemen’s behavior, which contrasts the values of the force. It is important to note that this is a rare incident which does not represent the actions of the Border Police in Israel. The Border Police commander instructed on setting up a team to investigate the incident immediately and its conclusions are due in the coming days.
I will follow the story and see if in fact the Border Police provides “conclusions.”
Related:
Report by British jurists reminds of the horrors of Israeli child detention