Israel suspends four soldiers after TikTok video shows them hitting two Palestinians

Israel suspended four soldiers on Wednesday after footage posted online showed them hitting two Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

The 14-second video uploaded to TikTok was taken near Ramallah and shows the Palestinians being kicked and shoved to the floor.

Aviv Kochavi, the head of the Israeli army, called the incident "severe and repugnant" and a "serious violation" of the military's values, Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post reported.

"The soldiers involved are not worthy of serving," he said.

"The incident will be fully investigated by the commanders and the military police. Those involved will be brought to justice."

Israeli military police have opened a probe and initial results suggest the troops pulled over a car they considered suspicious, an army spokesperson was quoted as saying by Israeli daily Haaretz.

The soldiers "behaved violently and used unnecessary force", the spokesperson said.

The troops claimed that their actions were in response to the Palestinians trying to ram them with their vehicle and take their weapons.

The military said the conclusions of the probe will be provided to the military prosecutor's office.

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Kochavi has instructed the recommendations be enacted across the armed forces.

Israel seldom punishes its troops for wrongdoing and violence against Palestinians. When it does, the action taken is frequently very lenient.

The four suspended soldiers belonged to the Netzah Yehuda Battalion, in which ultra-Orthodox Jews serve.

Nachman Shai, Israeli diaspora affairs minister and former army spokesperson, tweeted that the battalion "needs to be disbanded" on Wednesday, according to The Times of Israel.

The battalion has previously been embroiled in other controversies.

Palestinian-American Omar Abdalmajeed As'ad died following his detention by Netzah Yehuda members near Ramallah in January.

Troops tied 78-year-old As'ad's hands using zipties and gagged and placed him in a building courtyard in the cold.

They did so "without checking on his condition", The Times of Israel said.

As'ad died due to "sudden cardiac arrest stemming from the stress of external violence", a Palestinian post-mortem examination found.