Israeli troops rounded up thousands of Palestinians, forcing them to strip to their underwear, transporting them undisclosed concentration c...
Israeli troops rounded up thousands of Palestinians, forcing them to strip to their underwear, transporting them undisclosed concentration camps and incarceration sites, while denying International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) access to the detainees.
Amid ICC reluctance to indict perpetrators of crimes against humanity and war crimes, what appears to be another act of revenge for releasing a couple hundred Palestinians in its deal with Hamas last month, Israeli forces detained thousands of Palestinians in both Gaza and West Bank, holding them in inhumane and degrading conditions.
The Israeli occupation army stripped dozens of Palestinians of their clothes while arresting them in northern Gaza.
Video clips published by Israeli accounts and circulated on social media showed dozens of Palestinian civilians, including children, sitting on the ground, while a number of heavily armed occupation soldiers appeared surrounding them.
Palestinians in West Bank
Israeli images showing Palestinian detainees in underwear spark outrage
Israeli justification of the abuse: “Here is the Middle East and it is very hot”
“Here is the Middle East, and it is very hot.” This is the phrase used by Mark Regev, an advisor to the Israeli Prime Minister, in an attempt to justify what the occupation army did in stripping displaced people in Gaza of their clothes and photographing them in this inhumane way. Netanyahu's advisor was speaking in an interview with Britain's Sky News, when the channel's anchor inquired about the spread of pictures of dozens of displaced Palestinians bound and stripped of their clothes in Gaza, which sparked angry reactions on social media.
Regev’s response was strange, as he said, according to what was reported by Anatolia News Agency, “First of all, remember that we are here in the Middle East, and the weather is very hot. "It may not be a good idea to be asked to take your shirt off, especially on sunny days, but it's not the end of the world."
After the program presenter pointed out that the Israeli forces released some Palestinian detainees after it was revealed that they were not affiliated with the Hamas movement, he stressed that the Israeli army does not have the right to strip people of their clothes, and asked Netanyahu’s advisor whether they violated the Geneva Convention in this context.
But Regev replied, saying, “The photos are not official material, and it is necessary to look into the way the video spread, which means that Israel cannot be held responsible in this regard.”
However, the program presenter objected to the advisor’s answer and told him: If it turns out that the Israeli army was the one who captured those scenes, then that has nothing to do with the issue or the heat in the Middle East.
Regev responded to the broadcaster who besieged him by repeating questions about Israel's violation of the Geneva Convention, saying that he was not familiar with international law at this level.
Last Thursday, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority published pictures and a video clip of dozens of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, saying that the army had arrested them during an operation in the northern Gaza Strip, noting that they were taken naked in cold weather to Israeli detention centers.
The Palestinians appear in the pictures and video clip sitting on a street in their underwear, surrounded by a number of Israeli soldiers, while trying to cover their chests with their hands (from the cold).