An Israeli soldier risked his own safety to rescue a Palestinian man being assaulted by a mob of young Jewish men in the West Bank city of Hebron last Friday.
A video of the incident went viral. The soldier is seen bursting into the crowd of Israelis that surrounded the Arab man and rushing him away from the crowd while warding off the attackers.
One of the Israelis had Ibrahim Bader, 31, in a headlock when the soldier approached. The soldier freed Bader and then appeared to be hit himself as he escorted Bader to safety. The Israelis gave chase, but the soldier and Bader eventually got away.
Bader later said “God sent” the soldier to save his life, and claimed the attack on him was unprovoked.
“The army needs to make sure they don’t attack someone else. These settlers need to be stopped,” he said.
Hebron is a flashpoint of violence between Israeli settlers that live in the Jewish part of the city and Palestinians,
The soldier received accolades from Israelis for his show of selflessness and his sense of justice in acting to rescue a Palestinian.
“The Golani soldier who defended a Palestinian resident of Hebron acted as every IDF soldier and commander is expected to,” Defense Minister Benny Gantz wrote on Twitter. “The IDF is committed to the safety of civilians in every place it operates, and I trust the ranking commanders in the IDF will investigate the incident in an orderly manner.”
Itamar Ben Gvir, a controversial politician and lawyer representing some of the suspects alleged the Arabs threw rocks at them first.
“This won’t be the first time Arabs in Hebron taunt Jews, then take out a camera,” Ben Gvir wrote on Twitter.
Screen capture: Twitter
Comments