Abuse by IDF soldiers humiliates Muslim Palestinians

IDF soldiers forced the mayor and 11 municipal councillors of Beit Furik, near Nablus, to remain for hours in a Muslim prayer position at gunpoint, beating or kicking them if they moved, victims of the attack last Saturday told The Jewish Independent.

“They demanded that we put our hands behind our heads and put our heads on the ground as in prayer. Anyone who moved got hit hard.” Ahmad Nasasrah, executive director of the municipality, said during an interview at his home, as he winced in pain from two broken ribs.

Those present during the attack said it was carried out by four men in IDF uniforms who had used a car with civilian, not military, license plates. The license plates suggest the soldiers are settlers who are in army units charged with guarding settlements.

The victims said they were also subject to verbal abuse, telling them, “You are terrorists, you were happy on October 7”, “You will be expelled to Jordan,” and “You are happy when there are terror operations.”

Nasasrah and three other local leaders were treated at Rafidya Hospital in Nablus while others were treated at a local clinic after the attack. The IDF did not respond to a request for comment.

The Beit Furik attacks stand out for both the humiliating use of Islamic prayer and the prominence of the people who were targeted.

It casts a spotlight on the grey zone between settler attacks and IDF abuse. Palestinian civilians in the West Bank are often depicted as suffering mainly at the hands of extremist settlers, not the military, even by left-wing politicians. But some of the settlers are soldiers, and many of the soldiers enable or even participate in attacks.