PM slams YouTube clip of IDF soldier taunting Palestinian

After latest video of soldier dancing around blindfolded Palestinian woman, Netanyahu says clips harm human dignity and embarrass the IDF.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN, HERB KEINON
IDF soldier dancing with detainee 311 (photo credit: Courtesy)
IDF soldier dancing with detainee 311
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu issued a statement Wednesday night strongly condemning the IDF soldier who danced around a blindfolded Palestinian female prisoner in a video clip that has gone viral on YouTube.
“That behavior and the video clip embarrass the IDF and Israel and cause us heavy international damage,” a statement issued by his office read. It said Netanyahu had issued directives urging steadfast efforts against actions that harm human dignity.
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“The IDF is among the most moral armies in the world, treating prisoners and detainees with respect.
Humiliating prisoners is not the way of the State of Israel or the Jewish people,” the prime minister said.
It was the second time in three days that Netanyahu found himself having to issue this type of statement. On Monday he strongly condemned the arson in the Beit Fajar mosque.
The IDF is attempting to track down the man who appeared in the Youtube video – shot in 2007 – dressed in an army uniform and belly dancing around the Palestinian woman, who is bound and blindfolded, as a Middle Eastern drumbeat sounds in the background.
The video, which has attracted a firestorm of condemnation within the country since coming to light, appears under the caption “Israeli soldier catch Arab terrorist (he dance on her) funny.”
An army source told The Jerusalem Post that the IDF has invested considerable resources in its investigation into the clip, and described the scene in the video as “totally unacceptable behavior.”
“We still don’t know who the soldier is,” the source said.
“He has no identifiable markers that say he is a combat soldier.
Because of the highly unacceptable scene in this video, we are working hard to find him.”
Once the investigation is complete, the IDF Prosecutor’s Office will make a decision on the case.
The IDF became aware of the Youtube video last week after it began receiving media attention.