Israel gives light sentences to soldiers convicted of torturing Palestinians

An Israeli court has issued light sentences against a group of soldiers convicted of robbing and torturing Palestinian workers.

The light sentences, incommensurate with the gravity of the offense, were issued after striking a deal with the police investigation department and the accused, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported on Sunday.

The court previously proposed imposing a sentence of eight years on soldiers who used methods of torture in circumstances where the workers did not pose any threat to them. However, after the deal, a very reduced sentence was imposed.

A few years ago, Israeli soldiers came across Palestinian workers in a forest in the southern occupied territories and attacked them while documenting the assault with their phones.

One of the soldiers reportedly videotaped himself beating one of the workers with a stick and singing, while workers appeared in the video flat on the ground with their faces bleeding.

Tel Aviv has been under fire for its extensive use of lethal force and extrajudicial killing of Palestinians who do not pose an immediate threat to its forces or to settlers.

Israeli troops recently shot and martyred a young Palestinian in the occupied West Bank, marking the most recent case of such deadly violence by the regime’s forces against Palestinians. The Palestinian, identified as 22-year-old Ammar Mefleh, was martyred at a checkpoint in the northern town of Hawara on Friday.

MG