Beaten up Palestinian-US teen sent to 9 days house arrest by Israel court

Jerusalem: A Jerusalem court in Israel has ordered that a Palestinian American teenager allegedly beaten in police custody be released to house arrest for nine days pending an investigation into stone-throwing allegations. Tariq Abu Khder, 15, holds US citizenship and lives in Florida. He is a cousin of Mohammed Abu Khder, a 16-year-old Palestinian whose kidnap and murder by suspected Jewish extremists on Wednesday sparked four straight days of riots. Tariq “was given nine days’ house arrest in Beit Hanina for the duration of the investigation,” police spokeswoman Luba Samri said, following a hearing at Jerusalem Magistrates Court, referring to a neighbourhood of annexed Arab east Jerusalem. [caption id=“attachment_1606031” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Tariq Abu Khdeir, 15, a U.S. citizen who relatives say was beaten and arrested by Israeli police during clashes sparked by the killing of his cousin Mohammed Abu Khdeir. AP[/caption] State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the US was watching “closely”. “If the investigation is concluded promptly, Mr Khder should be able to return to Florida as planned with his family later this month,” she said, adding he was being restricted to his uncle’s home but was allowed to visit medical facilities if needed. An official from the US Consulate General attended the hearing. Tariq was arrested on Thursday in the east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Shuafat during clashes between stone-throwers and Israeli riot police that erupted a day before. According to his parents, Tariq was beaten in police custody, provoking a sharp rebuke from the US State Department, which said it was “profoundly troubled” by the report. “We are calling for a speedy, transparent and credible investigation and full accountability for the apparent excessive use of force,” Psaki said earlier. AFP