JERUSALEM (JTA) — An Israeli Border Police officer was sentenced to community service for the beating of a Palestinian-American teenager last summer.
The officer, who has not been named publicly, was sentenced Wednesday to 45 days of community service and a suspended prison sentence of four months, Reuters reported, citing Israel’s Justice Ministry. He was convicted of assault and battery by the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court, where he admitted to the charges in a plea bargain.
Prosecutors reportedly had asked for a seven-month prison sentence, according to Haaretz.
The officer lost his job in the wake of the incident.
He was one of two officers filmed beating Tariq Abu Khdeir, 15, of Tampa, Florida, during violent protests in eastern Jerusalem.
The riots came two days after the murder of Tariq’s cousin, Mohammed Abu Khdeir, whose body was found burned in the Jerusalem forest in July 2014 in an apparent revenge attack for the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teens the previous month.
Tariq appeared in interviews following the attack with two black eyes and a severely swollen lip.
Israeli police accused Tariq of rioting and attacking officers. The teen and his family said he was observing but not participating in the rioting.
