Israeli regime forces unleashed a military dog to attack a Palestinian man during a brutal arrest, despite the man holding his hands up, a newly-released footage reveals.

Ramallah, February 19 (RHC)-- Israeli regime forces unleashed a military dog to attack a Palestinian man during a brutal arrest, despite the man holding his hands up, a newly-released footage reveals.

The footage, made public this week, relates to an incident that reportedly took place on Monday near the city of Ramallah, condemned widely as a “barbaric act.”  It shows 19-year-old Malik Maala holding his hands behind his head while awaiting arrest by the Israeli troops at his workplace in the occupied West Bank city of al-Bireh.

Quite shockingly, as the teenager prepares to be handcuffed, a military dog released by Israeli soldiers standing nearby pounces on him, the UK-based Middle East Eye reported Thursday.  The footage shows Israeli military forces approaching the university student moments after he is attacked by the dog, detaining him and taking him to an undisclosed location.

The Palestinian Authority's prisoners’ commission, reacting to the incident, termed it "distressful and cruel" and a "barbaric act."   "It is another proof that clarifies the ongoing methods of the occupation aiming at breaking the will of our people to build a successful and stable future," the agency said in a statement.

It blasted the silence of international human rights watchdogs for their failure in “defending the minimum rights of our people in building their future and obtaining freedom."

The commission also noted that Maala was arrested while working as a guard at an industrial facility in al-Bireh to raise money for his university tuition fees. 

Israeli regime news outlets tried to justify the vicious cruelty by insisting that the measure was intended to “frighten” the Palestinian youth and that the dog was held back to prevent harm on the teenager.  The report and the Palestinian agency did not cite reasons for Maala’s brutal arrest.