Israeli undercover police seen attacking Palestinian protesters as they break up violent demonstrations

Israeli undercover forces infiltrated and broke up a violent Palestinian demonstration in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday. 

Police officers disguised themselves as young Palestinians by wearing facemasks and keffiyehs, the traditional Arabic scarf. 

The squad of undercover officers then slipped among a group of Palestinians as they clashed with Israeli soldiers near a checkpoint outside the city of Ramallah. 

One of the officers threw a stun grenade and the team pulled out their pistols, sending the surprised young Palestinians scattering. 

Israeli police said three Palestinians were arrested during the operation.

"Undercover border police operations took place near Ramallah when Palestinian rioters attacked security personnel with petrol bombs and rocks. Security forces worked and coordinated the operations and arrested three masked Palestinians directly involved in the riots," police said. 

Israel’s undercover units are known as Mista’arvim - meaning “disguise as an Arab” in Hebrew - and work to infiltrate Palestinian and other Arab populations. 

Their agents usually speak Arabic and are able to pass themselves off as Arabs as they go about their work. 

The officers are believed to be from Yamas, an undercover unit within Israel’s border police force. The military and the Shin Ben international security force have their own undercover units. 

Undercover units like Yamas were the inspiration for the Israeli television show Fauda. 

Wednesday’s clash took place at the DCO checkpoint between Ramallah and the West Bank settlement of Beit El. 

Clashes have taken place there nearly every day since Donald Trump announced that the US was recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. 

In October 2015, an undercover Israeli soldier shot a Palestinian protester in the leg at point-blank range even though he had already been grabbed by three Israeli troops. 

The Israeli military justified the shooting, saying: “In events of this type, in which soldiers operate in life threatening situations and in which a Palestinian mob is inflamed, special methods of operation are used.

“In this incident a violent confrontation broke out between the undercover troops and the central inciter, during which a bullet was fired into his leg.”

The Palestinian man survived the shooting.