A diplomatic incident with Denmark over an IDF officer who slammed the face of a
Danish protester with his M16 rifle on Saturday was averted by the IDF’s quick
disciplinary action against the officer and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s
immediate condemnation, diplomatic officials said Monday.
In a statement
posted on the website of Denmark’s Foreign Ministry, Danish Foreign Minister
Villy Sovndal said that “we do not yet know the circumstances surrounding the
incident” and that Denmark’s ambassador to Israel Liselotte Kjærsgaard Plesner
had “immediately asked the Israeli authorities for an explanation.”
“I
can see that the soldier involved was immediately suspended and the matter is
now being investigated,” Sovndal said.
Sovndal also noted that Netanyahu
had condemned the incident.
“We must all condemn the use of force, which
apparently has occurred against the demonstrators,” Sovndal said.
On
Sunday night, less than three hours after Channel 2 aired footage of the
incident in which Lt.-Col. Shalom Eisner, deputy commander of the Jordan Valley
Brigade, is shown striking a civilian demonstrator, Netanyahu condemned the
action and said such behavior had no place in the IDF or in
Israel.
According to Foreign Ministry officials, Kjærsgaard Plesner
phoned the ministry the next morning and asked for information about the
incident and the steps Israel was taking. She said she would relay back to
Copenhagen Netanyahu’s condemnation, as well as the IDF’s decision to suspend
Eisner from his post and open an investigation.