Israel Convicts Police Officer in Beating of Florida Teen

Israeli police say a Jerusalem court has convicted an officer filmed beating a Palestinian-American teenager during a violent protest in July 2014.

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said Thursday that the court sentenced an Israeli border police officer to six weeks community service for assault and battery. She did not name the officer.

Fifteen-year-old Tariq Abu Khdeir, of Tampa, Florida, was beaten at an east Jerusalem protest following the gruesome murder of his cousin. Israeli extremists burned 16-year-old Mohammed alive in revenge for the killings of three Israeli teens in the West Bank. Their deaths set off a chain of events that led to the Gaza war last year.

Abu Khdeir's attorney Mohammad Mahmoud said the ruling, which came Wednesday, delivered an "extremely light" punishment that "gives (police) a free hand."

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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