Rabbi Avraham Kroizer, 80, who was violently thrown to the ground by a policeman in Meron last night, detailed this morning the sequence of events leading up to the incident.
“I was there to see if they would open the barricades or not, and in the meantime, I sat on the side and read chapters of Tehillim,” Rabbi Kroizer said.
He described how he ended up at the scene: “I thought that maybe they would open the barrier for me to cross later, because a few moments earlier, I saw an old man accompanied by his two children being allowed to pass. So, I thought they would allow me as well, considering I am also old.
“But the policemen told me that they would not let me pass, so I made my way back to the place on the side where I was,” he continued. “While I was making my way back, the policeman ran behind me and while running, he shouted at me that he would not allow me to return to where I had been, and then while running, he pushed me forcefully and I fell on my face.
“My entire face hurt and they gave me stitches in the hospital,” he added. When asked if he would forgive the policeman, he responded: “This is a personal matter of mine. If he repents, then by all means, just let him not repeat these actions.”
In the last 24 hours, there have been violent clashes between policemen and visitors who tried to force their way up to Meron. Disturbing footage published last night showed policemen pushing Rabbi Kroizer hard enough to send him flying before falling on his face.
In another incident, a policeman is seen drawing his gun and firing into the air during a confrontation with citizens who went up to Meron. Footage of that incident shows a policeman punching a chareidi man who tried to pass and afterwards drawing his gun and firing into the air, allegedly without any perceivable threat to his life.
Yet another video shows a female officer beating and kicking women who were trying to reach the compound.
Minister Ben-Gvir spoke with the Border Police Commander and the two agreed that all three officers will be suspended pending an investigation.
{Matzav.com Israel}