Israel Says Circulation Stripped Palestinians Must Stop
The images of Palestinian men detained by the Israeli Force has caused outrage globally. The detained civilians were forced to strip their clothes, hands tied and blind folded were forced to kneel in front of the occupation force and was questioned in a humiliating manner. Following the global outrage, the occupation force said, the circulation of the images should be prevented. Israeli army said the arrest was to check “if” they were Hamas members.
The occupation force agreed arresting hundreds of Palestinians and claimed that Hamas members surrendered in high numbers. They also agreed that many of those arrested were later released.
Tzachi Hanegbi, the head of the National Security Council of Israel told Kan public broadcaster, the Israeli Broadcaster that the spreading of the said pictures “doesn’t serve anything”. He insisted that the suspects must be searched thoroughly for ensuring that they are not carrying weapons. He also added that, “I think you won’t see more pictures like this from now on”.
In one of the videos, one man was seen walking with hands raised up carrying a rifle walked towards the soldier surrendering the weapon. Slightly different version of the video was also appeared on social media.
A senior Israeli official said the images of the hundreds of Palestinian men in Gaza being stripped after they were arrested by the IDF might be “uncomfortable”, said The Times Of Israel. However, the official who asked to maintain his anonymity said that the army was only stopping those of whom the IDF have strong suspicions and the stripping was necessary to make sure that the civilians were not carrying weapons. IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the humiliating picture were not officially shared by his office and added that the occupation force may change the procedures of arrest if not followed properly.
As per Channel 12 of Israel on Sunday said that around 700 people were detained by the occupation force, of whom 60 percentage were determined to be not the members of Hamas. the IDF earlier said to AFP that the occupation force has arrested individuals who were suspected to be involved with “terrorist activity”. The statement also said that the “individuals who are not to be taking part in terrorist activities are released”, and said those arrested were treated in accordance with international law.
IDF also said, “it is often necessary for terror suspects to hand over their clothes such that their clothes can be searched and to ensure that they are not concealing explosive vests or other weaponry”, quoted The Times Of Israel.
However, under the Geneva conventions, it is not allowed to expose the prisoners of war to the “public curiosity”, as a method to preserve the prisoners’ dignity and protect them from the public identification.
