A Palestinian who was tending to his herd a few hundred meters from the Avigail outpost in the south Mount Hebron area was attacked for no apparent reason by the outpost's security officer on Saturday.

The officer claimed two Palestinian children had approached the Jewish outpost.

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A video obtained by Ynet shows the security officer grabbing the shepherd, Na'al Abu Aram, and punching him as an IDF soldier looks on. The security officer is later seen shoving the Palestinian and running toward the herd to scare the sheep away.

Documentation of the attack (צילום: תעאיוש)

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Following the incident, another Palestinian turned to the officer and said: "You're hitting him; he's not hitting you. There are cameras, everything, there's even a soldier here."

At this point, the Palestinians asked that the officer be removed from the scene, as he said to the Palestinian man who was attacked: "You hit me now? You're going to pay."

After the incident, the security officer told Ynet: "The shepherd arrived at the area accompanied by anarchist activists who are known to incite provocations on a regular basis. As you can see in the video, the shepherd grabbed me and threatened me with a stick. In an attempt to break loose from his hold I pushed him away from me. The video was taped and edited in a manipulative manner aimed at slandering me.

"This is not the first time that the same shepherd has attacked me or threatened residents," the officer added. "Two and a half years ago he was caught stealing from the yard of one of the houses, and in another incident he said that he keeps showing up in the area because the IDF had killed his cousin three years ago and he will not rest until he avenges his death. I've filed a complaint against him with the police before," said the officer.

"The security forces, IDF and police must prevent provocateurs from arriving at the outpost and bring along potential terrorists into the area and risk the lives of out children. I, as well as the rest of the residents of Avigail, have been friendly with the Palestinians in the area, except for those who are provoked by anarchists."

You can contact Elior Levy, Ynet's Palestinian Affairs Correspondent, at: paldesk@gmail.com

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