RAMALLAH, West Bank - Arab and Israeli left-wing politicians yesterday slammed Israeli forces after three soldiers belonging to the problematic Kfir Brigade were detained by military police investigators on suspicion of beating up two Palestinian boys and placing a heater against the face of one of them. The daily Yediot Ahronot, which revealed the incident, said that there are also suspicions that the troops attempted to cover up the incident in question.
An Israeli military judge who reviewed the evidence noted that it shows a "shocking picture of a joint effort by the three" and ordered that they be kept in custody for five days. Yediot said that the investigation into the affair was launched after a woman soldier who serves in the battalion turned to the battalion commander on Wednesday and told him that three soldiers beat up two Palestinian boys in the battalion's base near West Bank city of Nablus after they were detained on suspicion of burning tires.
According to the woman soldier, the two Palestinian detainees were beat up while they were handcuffed and after their eyes were covered. The soldier, who witnessed some of the abuse, said that the troops kicked the Palestinians, hit them using hand restraints, and swore at them. The evidence submitted to the court includes a testimony that charges the soldiers with placing a heater against the face of one of the boys.
Military police investigators questioned the two Palestinian boys and another woman soldier who was present at the scene of the incident. The investigators discovered that the troops under investigation instructed the woman soldier not to say anything about what she saw.
The prosecutor in the case made it clear that the soldiers will be indicted next week on suspicion of abuse under grave circumstances. Yediot cited the president of the military court in Jaffa, Col. Avi Levy, as saying that the three soldiers "behaved inhumanely" toward the detainees.
Arab member of Israeli Knesset (parliament) and chairman of Balad party said that "the army is officially carrying out much worse acts against the Palestinian population. What is revealed is only the tip of the iceberg. The Palestinian population is abused on a daily basis. The use of mild punishments gives the green light to such acts."
Talab El-Sani, of United Arab List party called on the Israeli Army to dismantle the Kfir Brigade and fire its commanders. Sani said that the incident "is not an exception, but rather a phenomenon and a normal behavior. Even Mussolini's soldiers didn't act like the IDF. This is an occupation army, one of the darkest armies in history, which introduces Israel into a black list of countries of dark occupation."
