Arab MK: Even Mussolini's soldiers didn't act like IDF

This is a systematic problem rather than a local one, Meretz Chairman Yossi Beilin said Friday following the arrest of three IDF fighters on suspicion of abusing Palestinian detainees, as reported by Ynet.

"The defense minister and the IDF chief of staff must address this problem as a serious failure of the system and not settle for the IDF spokesperson's explanations on a local treatment," Knesset Member Beilin added.

Ynet learned Friday that three IDF soldiers belonging to the Haruv battalion of the Kfir Brigade were detained Wednesday by Military Police investigators on suspicion of beating up two Palestinian boys and placing a heater against the face of one of them.

MK Beilin said in response to the report, "The IDF is paying a terrible price today due to the ongoing occupation, which is both expressed in the failures of the Second Lebanon War and in the army's moral image – as reflected in this recent incident.

"Even before providing a diplomatic solution, the IDF must save itself both from its operational and from its ethical collapse."

MK Ran Cohen (Meretz), a member of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, stated that he would appeal to IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi and demand that the punishments for such acts be aggravated "in light of the recurrent acts of abuse by soldiers against Palestinians, in the territories and checkpoints."

Cohen added, "The multitude and variety of such incidents testifies to a systematic failure which corrupts the army and the IDF's fighting ethics."

'Real solution is saying goodbye to occupation'

Friday's report gave rise to a wave of responses among MKs from the Arab parties. They all said they were not surprised, as this was not the first time such incidents were revealed.

"The army is officially carrying out much worse acts against the Palestinian population," said Balad chairman, MK Jamal Zahalka. "What is revealed is only the tip of the iceberg. The Palestinian population is abused on a daily basis. The use of mild punishments gives the green light to such acts."

MK Talab El-Sana (United Arab List-Ta'al) called on the IDF to dismantle the Kfir Brigade and fire its commanders.

"This is not an exception, but rather a phenomenon and a normal behavior. Even Mussolini's soldiers didn't act like the IDF. This is an occupation army, one of the darkest armies in history, which introduces Israel into a black list of countries of dark occupation," he told Ynet.

His fellow faction member, MK Ahmad Tibi, responded to the report in a phone conversation from Washington.

"This is the typical behavior of IDF soldiers in Hebron. This is a sadistic unit which is backed by its commanders – there is nothing new under the sun. The Israeli society is responsible for its son's ugliness in the occupied territories," said Tibi.

The Hadash party also pointed a finger at the occupation. "It has been said in the past that the occupation corrupts, and here is the proof – it corrupts everyone," said MK Dov Khenin. "It doesn’t matter which unit this is and from which sector in the population you come from. This is a difficult and saddening story.

"These grave incidents have stopped being exceptional and shocking, and have turned into a norm. The real solution is to say goodbye to the occupation."

Khenin added that he could not recall any dramatic punishments given to soldiers for abusing Palestinians. "In such a situation, the message is that it is permitted, or that if it happens it's not that terrible," he added.

Sharon Roffe-Ofir contributed to this report