Israeli man buys Palestinian girl bike after soldiers threw hers away

The elderly man said the incident reminded him of his youth in Europe when an anti-Semitic gang threw his bike in river

A screenshot taken from footage shot by rights's group B'Tselem in Hebron in early August (YouTube)

Thursday 18 August 2016

An Israeli man has donated a bike to an eight-year-old Palestinian girl who caught international attention earlier this month when two Israeli security guards were filmed throwing her bike away.

Sami Jolles, a diamond dealer who splits his time between the US and Israel, reportedly felt moved by the girl’s plight and said that it reminded him of his youth back in Europe when he was attacked by anti-Semites who threw his bike in a river.

Peace activist Lonny Baskin told The Times of Israel on Wednesday that Anwar Burqan has now received a new bike to make up for the one that was reportedly badly damaged during the incident and could no longer be used. The newspaper published photos of Burqan holding the new bike and smiling. 

The soldiers involved in the incident later claimed they took away the bike to protect the girl. They were not charged over the incident.

Hebron is fiercely divided between the Palestinian majority and a small but very active settler community that lives literally above Palestinian homes and shops in the Old City and is heavily guarded by the Israeli army.

Tensions regularly spill over, causing clashes, crackdowns and curfews.