JERUSALEM (JTA) — An Israeli Border Police officer was suspended after a video showing him taking a bicycle from an 8-year-old Palestinian girl was posted online.
The video, taken by a volunteer for the Palestinian rights organization B’Tselem, has been viewed more than 100,000 times on YouTube.
The officer was suspended from active duty on Tuesday, according to reports.
The video shows him approaching the girl on a street in Hebron, near the Cave of the Patriarchs, that is not permitted to be used by Palestinians. The girl was afraid and jumped off her bike. The officer prevented the girl from taking her bike as she ran in tears from the scene.
The video then shows the officer dumping the bike in some nearby bushes.
A family member of the girl, identified as Anwar Burqan, later returned and retrieved the bike, Ynet reported.
The incident occurred on July 25, but the video was only posted by B’Tselem on Monday.
The Border Police said in a statement that it “regrets” the incident, and that the Police Investigation Unit of the Justice Ministry will investigate the incident.
