Occupied Jerusalem: Israeli reservists critical of their military's treatment of Palestinians have released new photos that appear to show Israeli soldiers holding assault rifles to the head of a blindfolded Palestinian man and spraypainting ‘Be right back' on the wall of a Gaza home.
The images, released yesterday by the Breaking the Silence group, are the latest in a series of pictures to surface in recent months showing soldiers mistreating Palestinians.
Breaking the Silence said it published the pictures on its Facebook page to rebut the military's contention that improper conduct by soldiers is an aberration.
"We will continue to release photos every so often to prove that this is the norm, this is how soldiers behave, and this is the price of occupation," said group member Yehuda Shaul. "We lose our ability to see Palestinians as our equals."
One photo appeared to show a helmetless soldier holding a rifle to the head of a Palestinian man whom he holds at bay. Another soldier, wearing a helmet, is holding up a rifle behind the man's back.
A second photo seemed to show a soldier spray-painting a Star of David and ‘Be right back' on the wall of a Palestinian home.
The soldiers' faces were blacked out when they appeared on Facebook.
Shaul said the group received the photos two weeks ago and was told they were shot during Israel's war in the Gaza Strip nearly two years ago. He said he could not absolutely confirm that was the case, but said details from the photos, like the military units shown there, supported that claim.
