Israeli policeman suspended after beating Palestinian truck driver

An Israeli policeman caught on video beating up a Palestinian truck driver in east Jerusalem on Thursday was suspended from his post, police said.

The policeman, in the video widely circulated on social media, curses the driver, head-butts him, hits him in the face and kicks him in the legs.

Other Palestinians are seen trying to reason with the policeman only for him to turn on them also.

A Palestinian witness filmed the incident, which took place in a parking lot near the interior ministry in the Wadi Joz area of annexed east Jerusalem, and handed a copy to a journalist with Israeli public radio, the station reported.

The witness said the policeman had accused the driver of having damaged his car with the truck.

The police force swiftly condemned the attack and said in a statement that the policeman was immediately suspended and "summoned for a talk on his future in the police".

Public security minister Gilad Erdan, on his Twitter account, also condemned "the very serious and shameful" incident and said it was damaging to the whole police force.

Agencies contributed to this report.