Watan-An explosion of anger erupted following the circulation of a video posted by an Israeli soldier showing the interrogation of a Palestinian citizen from Gaza.
The Palestinian citizen appeared stripped of his clothes with his hands restrained and a wound on his leg, while the Israeli soldier stood in front of him to interrogate him.
The story dates back to the posting of a video by an Israeli soldier named Yossi Gamzu on his social media accounts, showing the arrest of a man from Gaza.
The video documented the Palestinian citizen being taken away with his hands tied and his clothes removed. It also showed the man sitting on a chair in a building in Gaza with his hands tied behind his back, blood flowing from his leg as if he had been subjected to torture.
The soldier was filmed in the Granite Battalion (932) of the Israeli occupation army, which was fighting in the city of Gaza.
Yossi documented his battalion’s combat operations in the sector and uploaded them to his YouTube channel. It became apparent that the video was filmed in late December of last year and was shot in the Al-Rimal neighborhood in central Gaza.
The Israeli soldier’s friends shared the video and boasted about it, leading it to spread among social media users in the Arab world.
حي الرمال, مدينة غزة |
جندي إسرائيلي #إرهابي ينشر صورة يظهر فيها وهو يعذب مدنيا فلسطينيا غرب مدينة غزة، حيث يرتدي ملابس داخلية فقط، مكبل اليدين ومصاب في ساقه.#لا_تعتادوا_العدوان_مستمر#طريق_العار_البري pic.twitter.com/ph2ZP5jU7s— وسيم سعد قزيل (@wasem_sad22) February 5, 2024
The Israeli soldier closes his accounts
Following the spread of the video and with many activists sharing the Israeli soldier’s personal information and photos, he closed his Instagram account and restricted access to his Facebook page to only friends.
The same Israeli soldier posted videos showing the Israeli army arresting dozens of men, women, and children blindfolded and handcuffed while naked in most of the areas they entered in Gaza.
🇮🇱هذا واحد من الجيش الأكثر أخلاقا.. الجندي يوسي غامزو ينشر ويتباهى بصورة يقوم فيها بتعذيب مدني فلسطيني ومعاملته بشكل مهين في #غزة .#GazaGenocide pic.twitter.com/T7hzZqdRj7
— Dima Halwani (@DimaHalwani) February 5, 2024
American commentary on the scene
Commenting on this, U.S. State Department spokesperson Vaidan Patel said that these scenes are extremely disturbing.
The Times of Israel quoted a U.S. State Department spokesperson as saying that they have no knowledge or information regarding the circumstances surrounding this incident.
He added that he would leave the matter to the occupying army to speak about these specific cases but reiterated the importance of respecting fundamental human rights and humanitarian law.