Jerusalem | AFP
The Israeli army rejected on Sunday (10) the outrage sparked by the images of dozens of Palestinians held in their underwear by its troops in Gaza, saying the practice was justified for security reasons.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, it is a common practice to strip people suspected of posing a threat to ensure they are not carrying explosives.
The Palestinian terror group Hamas reiterated on Sunday that the men in the pictures were not part of its armed wing and said the allegations were “baseless lies.”
“The Zionist occupation released images and scenes of unarmed civilians in Gaza after they had already been arrested and placed weapons next to them,” said Izzat al Rishq, a member of Hamas’ political committee. According to the terrorist group, the prisoners were captured in a school that was used as a hideout.
The images of dozens of men kneeling in their underwear in the custody of soldiers were broadcast on Israeli television on Thursday (7) and went viral on social media, where many users reported that it was an attack on the dignity of the prisoners .
Israel maintains that people not involved in terrorist activities will be released and emphasizes that those detained will be treated in accordance with the rules of international law.
Tel Aviv government spokesman Eylon Levy told reporters that those featured were residents of areas in northern Gaza where Hamas' main strongholds and command centers are located.
“We are talking about men of military age who have been discovered in areas that civilians should have left weeks ago,” he said. The setting for the video is the city of Beit Lahia, an area in the northeast of the strip that has been surrounded by Israeli tanks for weeks.
Levy further stated that the detained individuals would then be interrogated, stressing that Israeli forces were engaged in handtohand combat with Hamas militants who were “intentionally disguising themselves as civilians.”
One of Israel's main arguments to justify its invasion of Gaza is that the terror group uses the Palestinian population as a human shield and stores military equipment under buildings housing civilians and in residential neighborhoods.
But Palestinians told Portal they recognized people in the images who they said had no ties to Hamas or other Islamist extremist groups.
Hani Almadhoun, a PalestinianAmerican living in the US state of Virginia, said he identified several family members in the video, including his 12yearold nephew. He later told American broadcaster NBC that he had managed to contact his relatives, who said they had been released after an interrogation and a photograph.
Meanwhile, Londonbased Arabic portal Al Araby Al Jadeed said one of the arrested men was Diaa Kahlout, the media's correspondent, and called on the international community to denounce the arrest of press professionals. The Committee to Protect Journalists called for Kahlout's release.