Three IDF soldiers sentenced for beating Palestinian

Three IDF soldiers were sentenced on Wednesday by an IDF Court for beating a Palestinian in mid-April.

Two of the soldiers were sentenced to 60 days in prison and the third was sentenced to 40 days in prison.

The difference in the sentences reflected that the first two were convicted of violence against the Palestinian, whereas the third soldier was convicted of the lesser crime of going beyond his authority in a way that could endanger human life, but not explicitly of taking a direct part in the violence.

While the first three soldiers were arrested on April 23, a fourth soldier was arrested later, on May 8, and the proceedings against him are ongoing.

The first three soldiers arrived at their conviction and sentencing as part of a plea deal, in light of certain potential difficulties of proceeding with a full trial for longer sentences.

Planning the crime

According to the indictments, the four soldiers conspired together to bring the Palestinian into a vehicle, beat him as they drove with him in the vehicle, and then left him injured and in a remote area alone. The soldiers then worked together systematically to try to cover up the incident and obstruct their own prosecution.