(JTA) — Authorities in Israel reportedly are investigating the alleged beating by police of a handcuffed Palestinian man.
According to the online edition of Haaretz, the beating took place Oct. 5 during riots that broke out after weekly Friday afternoon prayers in eastern Jerusalem mosques.
A passer-by filmed the beating and put it on YouTube, Haaretz reported. The video reportedly shows an Israeli policeman punching a handcuffed Palestinian man lying on the floor.
Haaretz identified the detainee as Hassan Afifi and wrote that he had been arrested on suspicion that he pelted police officers with rocks and assaulted them in an alleyway. Afifi was released shortly after his arrest as police were deciding whether to recommend he be indicted, Haaretz reported.
The paper also quoted an unnamed police spokesperson as saying that the allegation of police brutality during the arrest were the subject of an investigation. The report did not specify which authority was responsible for the investigation.
