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Israeli army hands probation sentences to soldiers caught beating Palestinian

Xinhua, June 15, 2015 Adjust font size:

Israel's military on Sunday tried and handed light probation sentences to soldiers caught on video beating and insulting an unarmed Palestinian man in a West Bank refugee camp.

In the footage, which was widely circulated on social media networks over the weekend, soldiers were seen repeatedly beating Shadi al-Ghabbashy, a resident of the refugee camp of Jalazoun near Ramallah, striking his head with a rifle butt, and wrestling him to the ground.

The soldiers, from the ultra-Orthodox brigade of Netzah Yehuda, were tried at a disciplinary court after the army launched an "in-depth investigation" into the case Saturday, according to a statement by a military spokesperson.

The company commander was reprimanded, and two additional soldiers were found to have used "excessive force" and were handed a suspended sentence of 28 days.

The soldier that shouted insults at al-Ghabbashy was sentenced to a 30-day confinement to his base, in other words he will not be allowed to go on vacation for an entire month.

A military statement said the incident occurred after protesters "rioted" during a rally in the refugee camp. After al-Ghabbashy "ignored calls by soldiers to stop, and grabbed a weapon of one of the commanders, the commanders decided to use force to arrest him," the army said. Endit