Five Videos Israel Doesn’t Want You To See

Israel works hard to portray its violence against Palestinians as that of self-defence against terrorism; in fact, the primary, ongoing task of the ‘Israel Defense Forces’ is to protect a network of colonies and settlers, and maintain a military regime over millions of non-citizen Palestinians.

These videos, all from October, show the grimly-routine violence inherent in Israel’s apartheid regime; Palestinians are targeted by Israeli occupation forces and settlers whether they are simply going about their business, defending their property, or protesting.

These videos help give the lie to both Israel’s ‘security’ rhetoric and its army’s ‘ethical’ standards. Let’s see how many of these soldiers face any kind of disciplinary process.

1.

On October 6, Ansar ‘Asi was brutally beaten and taken away by Israeli occupation forces as he worked at a cleaning products company in al-Bireh, near Ramallah in the West Bank. The video, captured by the company’s security camera, shows a number of Israeli soldiers beating ‘Asi, kicking him while he is on the floor, and assaulting him with their rifles. The Palestinian worker required medical attention, and was detained for five days.

2.

During confrontations between Palestinian youth and Israeli occupation forces near Hebron on October 14, soldiers seized an unarmed teenager as he fled, before dragging him to the ground and beating and kicking him. As he is being assaulted, other soldiers open fire on the protesters.

3.

On October 7, undercover Israeli agents seized an unarmed Palestinian demonstrator, beat him, and shot him in the leg at point blank range. Uniformed Israeli occupation forces joined in the assault, kicking the young man as he is dragged on the ground. According to the AFP journalist present, the undercover agents also fired “live bullets into a crowd of protesters.”

4.

This video, recorded by a grocery store security camera, shows Israeli occupation forces brutally arresting a Palestinian child in East Jerusalem. They also kick the shop’s employee to the floor.

5.

This video shows Jewish settlers throwing stones at Palestinian homes in Hebron, as Israeli occupation forces look on. Far from an unusual occurrence, settler violence against Palestinians often takes place under the protection of Israeli soldiers. The clip is even more striking, given that Israeli forces shoot – sometimes fatally – Palestinian protesters who throw stones.

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