Disturbing footage of a heavily armed Israeli soldier holding a terrified child in a headlock have gone viral.

It’s believed the soldier was trying to arrest the 11-year-old Palestinian boy, Mohammed Tamimi , who appears to have a broken arm.

Women pull at the soldier desperately, and his sister A’hed bites him on the hand in an attempt to free her brother.

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(Picture: AFP/ABBAS MOMANIABBAS MOMANI/AFP/Getty)

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The incident took place in the village of Nabi Saleh in the West Bank during an organised protest by Palestinian activists.



CNN claim the boy’s father, Bassem Tamimi, provided footage of the altercation.

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That's how it all started. He was trying to arrest a boy with a broken arm, a little boy http://t.co/U4UAvkEXAi pic.twitter.com/elJzADGrKO — Mohamed Hemish (@MohamedHemish) August 29, 2015

(Picture: ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/Getty)

(Picture: ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/Getty)

‘This is very difficult for any father or mother to see their son or daughter in that way, being violently attacked.’

He said the family often record the demonstrations to post in a Nabi Saleh solidarity forum and document evidence of what he claims is Israeli abuse.

(Picture: ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/Getty)

The Israeli army has since defended the soldier’s actions, insisting people in the crowd had thrown stones before the arrest attempt.

‘The forces decided to detain one of the Palestinians identified hurling rocks,’ an Israeli spokesperson told CNN.

Mohammed a day after the incident (Picture: AFP PHOTO / ABBAS MOMANIABBAS MOMANI/AFP/Getty)

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