Ramallah: A video clip uploaded on the internet, showing an Israeli soldier bellydancing close to a blindfolded Palestinian woman prisoner in handcuffs, has angered Palestinians.
A grainy video of a male Israeli soldier bellydancing around a bound and blindfolded female prisoner which went viral overnight, on Wednesday provoked a furious response from the Palestinians.
The clip, which came to light after it was screened on Israel's private Channel 10 television late on Monday, shows a soldier gyrating to the rhythmic drumbeat of an Arabic track as the woman, who is wearing a headscarf, huddles against a wall, her hands bound in front of her and her eyes bound with a white cloth.
Speech bubble
The soldier, who is wearing sunglasses and grinning broadly, repeatedly brushes up close to the woman who has a Hebrew speech bubble coming out of her mouth reading "Allahu Akbar".
Crudely captioned "israeli soldier catch arab terrorist [dancing around her] funny" the clip lasts just over a minute. The video was immediately slammed by the Palestinian National Authority as "deeply offensive to the dignity of women".
"This is a disgusting illustration of the sick mentality of the occupier. This is not an isolated incident," said a strongly-worded statement from the office of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.
Exposure of the video came just six weeks after an Israeli soldier sparked widespread outrage by posting pictures of herself smiling and larking around next to blindfolded and handcuffed Palestinian prisoners.
Palestinians said the incident pointed to a systematic campaign by the Israeli forces to break the Palestinians through prison torture, intimidation and disrespect.
Identification
Qadoura Fares, who heads the Palestinian Prisoner Club told Gulf News the woman prisoner has yet to be identified.
"The clip highlights the true gang-like nature of the Israeli forces," Fares said.
"While we hope the soldier will be punished for his crime, we have no illusions that the Israeli army will hold him accountable," he added.
Speaking to Gulf News, Executive Director of the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights, Randa Siniora, says Palestinian women face just as much harassment as men in prison.
With inputs from AFP
How will this video affect Israel's image in the international community? Do you think there be any accountability for this crime?
