Video of Israeli soldier tackling kids goes viral

JERUSALEM: A video showing an Israeli soldier scuffling with Palestinian women and youth at a West Bank protest has been viewed more than 2 million times on Facebook, shining a light on Israeli military policies in the territory.

In the edited video, the masked soldier is seen holding a 12-year-old boy, his arm in a cast, in a chokehold in an attempt to arrest him.

The soldier is swarmed by the boy's female relatives who pull at his skin and uniform and slap him. The boy's sister, a 15-year-old sporting a blonde braid, is seen biting the soldier's hand. Bystanders yell, "He is a little boy. His arm is broken." The video sparked accusations from critics that Israel is too heavy-handed in its confrontations with Palestinian protesters, especially minors. In Israel, the video was seen as capturing the antagonism soldiers regularly face from stone-throwing Palestinian protestersand raised concerns for the soldiers' safety.