The Israeli Military Prosecutor’s Office indicted, on Monday, two soldiers of the engineering Corps over charges of abusing three Palestinian residents, after arresting them at the Qalandia roadblock, north of Jerusalem.
Israeli online daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the military prosecution filed charges against the two soldiers for abusing three Palestinians after arresting them at the checkpoint, June 2005.
The soldiers, for no apparent reason, attacked the three residents and violently hit them, the indictment reads. “When the duty of one of the soldiers was over, a fellow soldier replaced him and continued hitting the detainees”.
The detainees were tied when the replacement soldier came and told them that he came there in order to kill them, before he started hitting them with the back of his rifle, in addition to kicking and punching them. He did not stop until a policeman, who was passing through the checkpoint, witnessed the incident.
Several minutes later, another soldier from the same group arrived at the checkpoint to take over the guard duty from his colleague, and started to kick and punch the detainees. This soldier is also involved in other previous incidents of attacks and abuse.
The two soldiers were not suspended from duty, and returned to their posts directly after the interrogation with them was over.
The trial of the soldiers is expected to open in the coming days, Israeli online daily Ynetnews reported.
