Israeli soldiers suspended for mooning Palestinians
JERUSALEM (AFP) - The Israeli army said on Sunday that it had suspended several soldiers after they were filmed exposing their bare buttocks to Palestinians in the south of the occupied West Bank.
"All personnel implicated in this unfortunate affair have been identified and immediately suspended from all professional activity," the army said, without specifying the number of servicemen concerned.
"This affair dates to a month ago and does not characterise the values taught to our soldiers," a statement said. "It will be settled today and the soldiers implicated will have to answer for their actions."
On Sunday the YNet news website posted a video, filmed and first distributed by a peace activist group last week, that shows two soldiers in full combat gear exposing their buttocks and a third flashing a victory sign with his fingers.
The video was said to have been shot outside the southern city of Hebron, with the troops allegedly exposing themselves to Palestinian shepherds in order to try and make them leave an area near the flashpoint city.
"The soldiers frustrated with the failure of the Lebanon war could finally make a victory sign by showing their posteriors to unarmed Palestinians," Israeli Arab MP Ahmed Tibi told YNet in condemning the incident.
Of course, the problem is not what they did; the problem is that they got caught on video.
Comments
I think you misinterpret this story.
Someone somewhere in the army has seen this S&M game for what it is. Despite acting the sadist (what with the war crimes, and all that), and as with many such instances of identification with the (in this case perceived) aggressor, this event highlights the real story or Israel & Palestine, the 'she was asking for it' transaction.
I think the real problem here is not that video somehow names the game, but that the name gets out.
Posted by: austin | February 3, 2008 4:54 PM