IDF suspends soldiers for beating and taunting left-wing activists in Hebron

The Israel Defense Forces has suspended two soldiers who physically assaulted and taunted left-wing activists in Hebron, the latest in a series of incidents involving the Givati infantry brigade in the flashpoint West Bank city.

In footage shared by Breaking the Silence, a non-governmental organisation that collects and publicises mostly anonymous testimony by former Israeli combat soldiers about alleged human rights violations against Palestinians, one soldier can be seen tackling an activist to the ground and punching him in the face.

The group of activists had traveled to Hebron to meet with local Palestinian families as an act of solidarity after Israelis visiting the city in an annual pilgrimage initiated clashes with them last week.

In the footage, troops were seen attempting to detain the man, who flees, before he was knocked to the ground and punched. Another soldier is heard shouting at the other activists: “Get the fuck out of here.”

The assaulted guide was subsequently interrogated by Israeli police for allegedly assaulting a soldier and preventing him from carrying out his duties, his lawyer told the Ynet news site, adding that his client was still being held, despite his injuries. Two other activists were also detained briefly for unclear reasons, the lawyer said. Footage from the scene did not show an assault on the part of the activists.

“אני לא אוהב שמאלנים, שמאלנים אני אשבור לכם את הצורה”: ברגעים אלה בחברון, כך נשמע חייל צה”ל, תוך כדי שהוא תוקף בברוטליות את העיתונאי אלי ביתאן. pic.twitter.com/FqkyCBtTtx

— ישראל פריי (@freyisrael1) November 25, 2022

“I don’t like leftists, leftists I will break your form”: at these moments in Hebron, this is what an IDF soldier is heard saying, while brutally attacking the journalist Eli Beitan.

In a separate video from the scene, a soldier from the same squad was seen confronting an activist and boasting about far-right lawmaker Itamar Ben Gvir, who is set to become Israel’s next national security minister — an expanded public security minister role.

“Ben Gvir is going to sort things out in this place,” the soldier says. “That’s it, you guys have lost … the fun is over,” he added.

Asked by the filming activist, “Why? Am I doing something illegal?” the soldier replies, “Everything you do is illegal. I am the law,” and orders the activist to step back.

“We can already see the effects of Ben Gvir’s appointment on the ground,” read a subsequent statement issued by Breaking the Silence.

The soldier was wearing a patch velcroed to the back of his military vest that read, “One shot. One kill. No remorse. I decide.” Patches other than those showing the logo of a military unit or an Israeli flag are against military regulations.

The Israel Defense Forces in a statement said the incidents would be investigated by the commander of the Central Command, Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fuchs.

“The soldiers involved were suspended from operational activity until the end of the investigation,” the IDF said.

Military chief Aviv Kohavi condemned the soldiers’ actions, saying they were “extremely serious and contrary to the values of the IDF.”

“The regulations and procedures allow soldiers freedom of action to carry out their mission, but they are not allowed to use force unnecessarily and they are not allowed to act violently,” Kohavi said in a statement.