Israeli police detain 60-year-old Palestinian in Jerusalem, break his arm

Israeli police released a 60-year-old Jerusalemite Palestinian on Tuesday night after assaulting him, breaking his arm, and detaining him from his home in the neighborhood of Silwan in occupied East Jerusalem earlier in the day.

کد خبر: ۷۰۳۶۶۶

تاریخ: ۲۴ خرداد ۱۳۹۶ - ۱۴:۱۶

The Wadi Hilweh Information Center reported that Abd al-Hai al-Zir’s home was raided by Israeli forces during a raid in the al-Abasiya area of Silwan. According to the center, Israeli forces demanded that al-Zir open a door between his home and his neighbor's.

When al-Zir refused, an Israeli officer allegedly threatened to break his arm if he did not open the door. The center said that Israeli forces then "violently beat” al-Zir and his 15-year-old son Ahmad.

When al-Zir attempted to stop the police from beating his son, they broke his right arm.

"Despite the fact that the soldiers heard the sound of the bones in my arm breaking, they continued to beat me,” al-Zir told the center.

Israeli police detained al-Zir and his son and took them to a police station for interrogation, and denied al-Zir immediate medical care for his injuries, the center said.

While al-Zir was released by the Israeli police Tuesday night, his son remained in detention, according to the center.

An Israeli police spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

Such violence by Israeli police used against Palestinian residents of Jerusalem has been documented numerous times.

Last month, a video captured a Palestinian family in the Old City of Jerusalem being assaulted by the Israeli police. The family told Ma’an at the time that Israeli police forces raided their bread kiosk, attempted to seize the bread, and issued a 475,000-shekel ($132,342) fine against the family for allegedly expanding the area of their kiosk beyond the permitted area.

Another video showing Israeli police violence against Palestinian Jerusalemites went viral in March after an Israeli police officer physically assaulted and injured several Palestinians over a parking dispute.

Israeli police spokeswoman Luba al-Samri claimed in a statement at the time that the video showed "dangerous and unordinary individual behavior” that did not reflect the usual conduct of Israeli police forces.

Despite al-Samri’s statement, Palestinians have long claimed that Israeli forces abuse their position of power to verbally and physically humiliate and assault Palestinians on a regular basis.

Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem routinely report mistreatment by Israeli forces, with Israeli authorities cracking down on Palestinian youths in recent years, while Palestinians have often accused Israeli forces of detaining Palestinian youths without any evidence of wrongdoing, and assaulting them in the process.