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JERUSALEM, March 23 (Xinhua) -- An Israeli police officer was caught on video insulting, headbutting and kicking a Palestinian truck driver in East Jerusalem on Thursday.
The video footage, first released by Israel Radio, shows a Special Patrol Unit police officer attacking a man, who was identified by local media as Mazin Shweiki, a resident of Sur Baher, a Palestinian neighborhood in southeastern Jerusalem.
The incident occurred close to the local bureau of the Internal Affairs Ministry in the Palestinian neighborhood of Wadi Joz.
In the footage, the two men are seen talking in what appears to be a heated argument following a collision of their vehicles.
The policeman shouted at Mazin: "Do you think that I'm going to pay for this?" He then headbutted Mazin's head and kicked him.
He kept beating and kicking Mazin until other Palestinians interfere in an attempt to separate the two men.
He then slapped, kicked and forcibly pushed the other men.
Two other policemen could be seen in the footage arriving at the scene, but they stayed out of the frame most of the time.
Mazin told Walla news site that the officers started to beat him without reason and that he feared for his life.
"I feared the officer would pull out his gun and shoot me," Mazin said.
Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said that the officer was put on a forced leave of absence and will be "summoned for a hearing to examine the continuation of his service."
Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan condemned the officer's behavior, saying it is "extremely severe and shameful."
"Behavior like this damages the whole police force," Erdan said.
"There is no place for this kind of behavior in the police force, and I hope that the police internal investigation unit will use the full extent of the law against this misconduct," he said.
Arab legislators urged for the termination of employment of the policemen who were involved in the incident.
Ahmad Tibi, a legislator with the Arab-Jewish Joint List, urged Erdan and police chief, Roni Alsheikh, to arrest the officers and indict them.
"It is a brutal behavior befitting gang members and not people who are supposed to uphold law and order," Tibi said in a statement.
