Israel Punishes Soldiers Who Attacked Palestinians

The Israeli army announced on Thursday, August 18, that it has punished three soldiers who recently threw stun grenades at Palestinian men in the West Bank. According to the Associated Press, a video recorded by security cameras shows an Israeli army jeep stopping next to four Palestinian men smoking a hookah, and after the vehicle moves, a grenade explodes near them. In this regard, the Israeli army stated that a non-commissioned officer was imprisoned for ten days for 'violating military regulations,' and two other soldiers were also punished. This video is one of the latest images related to the recent wave of violence that has been widely published in Israeli and Palestinian media. Since late last summer, during attacks by Palestinians with firearms and vehicles, 34 Israelis and two American tourists have been killed. During this period, at least 206 Palestinians have also been shot dead by Israeli security forces. Israel claims that most of them were attackers. Palestinians accuse Israel of using excessive force against these attackers, even those who are injured or arrested before the attack, and several videos have been released to prove such accusations. In one of the most notorious cases of this violence, an Israeli army sergeant named Elor Azaria was charged with murder. A video recorded of the incident shows him shooting a wounded Palestinian attacker in the city of Hebron in the West Bank. In early August 2016, another video was released showing Israeli border guards taking a bicycle from an 8-year-old Palestinian girl. The video later shows one of the Israeli officers leaving the bicycle behind a bush on the ground. A Palestinian volunteer working for the human rights group B'Tselem in Israel filmed these scenes. The Israeli Ministry of Justice stated that the behavior of these officers was unprofessional but does not intend to file charges against them. Two other recently released videos show the daily struggles of Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank under Israeli rule. A spokesperson for the B'Tselem human rights group said that without the release of the video, it was unlikely that an investigation would have been conducted regarding the bicycle incident. The Israeli army states that 'regardless of whether these cases have been filmed or not, soldiers are required to report any cases of violations of regulations and the strict values of the armed forces.' The Associated Press adds that a non-governmental organization and watchdog in Israel called Yesh Din states that between 2010 and 2013, only 1.4% of Palestinian complaints led to charges against Israeli soldiers. The Israeli army emphasizes that its judicial system operates well and that the low percentage of punishments does not mean a lack of action by the army. In rare cases, videos are released that confirm Israel's claims against Palestinians. In July, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu published a video on his Facebook page showing a Palestinian man in the West Bank holding a small child and asking Israeli soldiers to shoot him. Mr. Netanyahu urged Palestinian leaders to stop such actions. However, this Palestinian man claims that during a protest against the seizure of their village's land, when he saw Israeli soldiers aiming their weapons at children, he raised his son in protest against this behavior. In early August, the Israeli Minister of Public Security announced that police officers would be equipped with small cameras installed on their uniforms with a budget of $10 million.