Israel officer faces 22 days in jail for breaking Italian man's camera

An Israeli army officer is set to spend 22 days in a military jail after admitting to breaking the camera of an Italian citizen in the occupied West Bank.

According to Haaretz, “the officer, who serves in the Israeli military’s paratroopers’ brigade and is ranked captain, reached a plea deal with the Military Advocate General.”

The incident occurred in February 2017, when the officer was overseeing the suppression of a protest in Hebron.

As recounted by the paper, the officer and several other soldiers led the Italian man in question “to a nearby military post and broke two cameras that were in his possession”.

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According to the indictment, “the defendant broke the two cameras of the civilian without any operational justification and while overstepping authority.”

Haaretz said the indictment, as well as the decision to send him to jail, are “unusual”, since – as a source told the paper – “it’s an excellent officer, who might continue serving in the army”.

“The officer is likely to admit to the actions attributed to him in the indictment as part of the plea deal, according to which he will spend 22 days in military prison. The deal has not been presented to the court yet, but will be in order to receive the court’s final approval,” the paper added.