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The sniper's photo

Soldiers disciplined for mistreating Palestinian detainees

Two servicemen post humiliating photos of Palestinian detainees online, cause uproar. One photo shows boy in sniper's sights. IDF: Cases not criminal in nature

Two new cases involving IDF soldiers humiliating Palestinian detainees have surfaced over the weekend, Ynet learned Sunday. The military said the cases will be handled with all due severity.

 

Ynet has learned that two soldiers faced disciplinary action over taking inappropriate photos with Palestinian detainees. One serviceman was sentenced to 14 days of detention and the other's case is still ongoing.

 

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The first case involved a soldier who serves with one of the Infantry Corps deployed in the Hebron area, who posted a photograph on his Facebook page, about a week ago, in which he is seen standing beside four detained Palestinians, bound and blindfolded.

 

The Palestinian men were wanted for questioning over alleged terrorist activity. The picture was taken while they were waiting for their transport for further interrogation.  

 

The soldier guarding the four was photographed by a fellow soldier and later posted the photograph online.

 

The incident was found out by the brigade's commanders, who decided the incident does not warrant a criminal investigation, but should be handled within the unit as a disciplinary issue.

 

The soldier who took the photograph was not punished, but the soldier photographed was sentenced to 14 days detention. He was also instructed to remove the picture from his Facebook page and delete it from his mobile phone.

 

Sources within the unit claimed the soldier was punished so severely to emphasize the army's zero tolerance toward cases of this nature.

 

The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said that "The soldier was judged for a moral failure since photographs of this nature falsely represent the IDF and its values.

 

"Following the photograph, the Military Police ordered an investigation be opened into the incident. Before the investigation began, it was discovered that the soldier was already judged by his commanders.

 

"Since the documented offence isn't criminal and since the legal procedure conducted by the soldier's commanding officer was found appropriate, a disciplinary action was decided to be sufficient."

 


תמונת הצלף והילד הפלסטיני

'Sniper's' photo

 

Another soldier was implicated in an incident of a similar nature. The soldier, a sniper, posted a photograph on his Instagram account in which a Palestinian child is seen with his back to the camera through the sights of a sniper rifle.

 

In this case as well the soldier hurriedly removed the photograph on Saturday, but it was already distributed in the social networks and on anti-Israeli websites.

 

According to IDF sources, it was not proven that the soldier actually took the photograph himself, saying that it is possible he found it online and decided to upload it to his account.

 

The photograph could even be fake, they said.

 

The IDF's Spokesperson's Unit said that "this is a severe incident which doesn't accord with the IDF's spirit and values. The issue was brought to the attention of the soldier's commanding officers, will be examined and properly handled."

 

 

Over the last few years, many cases surfaced of Israeli soldiers abusing Palestinians.

 

In two cases which caused significant uproar, soldier Eden Abergil documented the "best time of her life" by photographing bound detainees and Border Guard officer Shani Sevilla abused a 17-year-old Palestinian detainee and pointed a gun to his head.

 

 

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פרסום ראשון: 02.17.13, 13:15
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