The hardships of a Palestinian truck driver

[kscarbel2]

The other side of the story – why tensions exist

RT  /  March 23, 2017

Israeli police officer assaults a Palestinian truck driver in East Jerusalem.

The officer is shown head-butting, kicking and slapping a 50-year-old Palestinian truck driver.

“I got to work this morning in my truck which is by the Interior Ministry in the Wadi Joz neighborhood, as always,” said the truck driver, Mazen Shwiki, as quoted by the Jerusalem Post.

The policeman accused the Palestinian truck driver of hitting his parked car and refused to accept any apologies.

"The policeman started to curse me and used derogatory language, and then he butted my head and started hitting me for no reason. All that, even though I admitted that I hit his car," Shwiki recollected.

Ahmad al-Tawil, who witnessed the assault, told Ma’an News that said he tried to stop the officer, but was also beaten.

There have been other incidents involving excessive violence by Israeli security forces towards Palestinians in East Jerusalem. Recently a Palestinian teen was shot in the chest by Israeli forces at the Shufat camp in occupied East Jerusalem. The forces accused the teen of throwing stones at military vehicles.

A nine-year-old girl was seriously injured at the Qalandia checkpoint between the West Bank and East Jerusalem, after she was shot in the foot for carrying a bag in a “suspicious manner.”

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[41chevy]

The rest of the story.from the Jerusalem Post.  One bad cop makes them all bad I suppose.

Israel Police issued a statement saying the incident represented “extreme and abnormal behavior that does not comply with the behavior expected of Israel Police officers.”

It added that after police received the video, the officer involved was immediately suspended and is now due to stand in a hearing with authorities on his continued tenure.

Meanwhile, police officials were further reviewing the footage of the incident.

The matter also spurred concerned responses from Israeli politicians.

“The behavior of the police officer filmed violently attacking an east Jerusalem resident is of the utmost gravity and disgraceful,” Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said. “Such behavior harms the entire police force and the police acted correctly to immediately suspend the officer. There is no place for such behavior among police and I hope that the Israel Police will reach a grave judgment against him for his unacceptable behavior.”

That response was distinctly different from others Erdan has often made that were – at least during initial stages of a controversial event – protective of police.

Meanwhile, Joint List MK Ahmad Tibi said he had asked the chief of the Israel Police and Erdan to take action.

“We are talking about the brutal behavior of a security official against a truck driver from east Jerusalem,” said Tibi.

“I demand his [the officer’s] immediate arrest and a trial of him and his two companions who joined the fist fight against the local driver.”

Tibi added that he had spoken with a witness who claimed to have filmed the brawl.

Meretz chairwoman Zehava Gal-On said that the incident was a direct result of lack of effective treatment of police brutality toward minorities in Israel.

“Just like it, with no reason. Hitting him on the head and then hitting the person next to him,” she said. “This is how it appears, and it is not surprising."

"They are still closing cases in the Police Investigation Department of policemen beating Arabs, Ethiopians and protesters without explaining why.”

Joint List chairman Ayman Odeh reiterated that notion by saying the problem was not this specific violent policeman, but with the whole system around him. “This rotten racist violence goes deep down within the police,” he said. “And this police commissioner and [public security] minister only help it spread around.”

Shwiki spoke about the incident on Thursday morning and said he was suffering shortness of breath due to fractures to his sternum caused by the assault.
 

 

Edited April 5, 2017 by 41chevy

[mrsmackpaul]

Alex given that part of the world and the past few thousand years of history I doubt any peace of any kind is about to happen over there in my life time 

Paul 

[tjc transport]

sure it will Paul. there will be peace in the region as soon as palestine and israel drop nukes on each other.

[mrsmackpaul]

Sadly if only it was as simple as that, I'm sure someone else would soon start fighting over that dry bit of dirt

I have never understood it at all

The other 41 Chev Paul lived there with his new bride after Vietnam 

He tried explaining to me once, I never quite got it

 

Paul 

[Mibuki]

I believe you because life in Palestine is not easy in general. I hope that one day peace will come to this region, too

[mowerman]

Yeah, that sucks at least over here. What are you only have to worry about a communist government that doesn’t care about us at all.Bob

[mechohaulic]

On 2/6/2023 at 6:45 AM, alexburton said:

I believe you because life in Palestine is not easy in general. I hope that one day peace will come to this region, too

old post follow up. I personally would hope for peace throughout the world not only that region. for nothing more then the sake of my grandchildren and their generation.