5 Israeli Soldiers Arrested For Allegedly Beating 2 Palestinian Terror Suspects

Israeli forces and forensic experts inspect the site of a Palestinian drive-by shooting attack outside the West Bank settlement of Givat Asaf on December 13, 2018. Image by Getty Images

JERUSALEM (JTA) — An Israel Defense Forces officer and four soldiers were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly beating two Palestinian terror suspects while in their custody.

The five soldiers are all members of the Kfir Brigade’s Netzah Yehuda infantry battalion, a unit for religious soldiers.

The Palestinian men were arrested near Ramallah while Israeli troops sought to locate the shooter who fired on a bus stop outside the West Banks settlement of Givat Asaf. Two soldiers from the unit were killed in the attack and another soldier from the unit, a dual Israeli and American citizen, was seriously injured, as was a female civilian.

The five soldiers were arrested on suspicion of beating the Palestinian suspects out of revenge for the deaths and injuries.

One of the detained Palestinians required medical attention and could not be questioned, Haaretz reported.

On Tuesday, Asem Barghouti, the alleged shooter in the attack on Givat Asaf, was arrested by Israeli security forces.