The IDF Military Police arrested two soldiers on Sunday, following a complaint from a third serviceman, who claimed the two viciously beat him recently at an IDF base in northern Israel.
The Military Police Investigations Unit began probing the incident after a Druze soldier was hospitalized with a fractured nose after being beaten by two other soldiers when he refused to switch sleeping quarters at their request.
The two suspects are slated to be brought before an army court Monday for an extension of their arrests.
The soldier's mother recounted the incident in a recent Facebook post which went viral. "He was brutally beaten by two soldiers with kicks and fists because he refused to leave his bedroom, and a day later they attacked him again until he was unconscious and lay bleeding and humiliated on the floor," she wrote.
"The next morning the soldiers who had attacked him approached him and assaulted him again, threatening and demanding that the soldier whitewash what happened, in order to avoid punishment, and if not, they would beat him more severely," she continued.
"This time they did not stop beating him until the soldier lost consciousness. This beating could have been avoided if the army had acted sooner."
"Today the soldier is at home recovering and being supported by his family after the traumatizing incident which he suffered while his attackers are released to their homes, where they celebrate Hanukkah and spend Shabbat. We, the family of the soldier who was attacked, view this incident with extreme severity. Our son is a soldier who serves his country," she concluded.
The IDF Spokesperson's Office said in response said that the military police had opened an investigation into the matter. "Last Thursday there was a violent incident by two soldiers towards a soldier at a base in the north. The soldiers' commanders evacuated him to the hospital for medical treatment, and transferred the case to the Military Police Criminal Investigations Unit. The IDF condemns acts of violence and every such incident is dealt with severely."