The Israeli army has suspended a group of reserve duty soldiers who went viral for laughing, smoking hookah, and eating snacks in front of detained and blindfolded Palestinians in Jenin, a city in the West Bank.
“I never imagined Jenin like this, what do I say?” one soldier says to the camera, according to a translation by Anadolu Agency. “Show them what I have here.” The camera then pans to the group of Palestinians sitting on the floor silently.
Later on, another soldier asks each of his colleagues, “What do you wish for us?” The last Israel Defense Forces member to answer says, “To have sex on the beach of Gaza.”
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A spokesperson for the Israeli army said, “The behavior of the soldiers in the videos is deplorable and stands in stark contrast to the values of the IDF.” The soldiers were handed suspensions at a disciplinary hearing, according to the spokesperson.
The Associated Press reported that this is just one of many videos of IDF soldiers that have received backlash, with critics claiming that they demonstrate Israel’s apathy toward Palestinian suffering.
“The dehumanization from the top is very much sinking down to the soldiers,” said Dror Sadot, a spokesperson for B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights group.
Reuters stated that, according to Gaza health officials, approximately 19,000 Palestinians have been killed since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
