Israeli Media Tries to Justify Israeli Commander’s Assault on Danish Activist
- Details
- Published on Wednesday, 18 April 2012 15:41
PNN/ Exclusive
In an attempt to justify the brutal attack on the peace activist by a high ranking officer, Lieutenant Colonel Shalom Eisner, the deputy commander of the Jordan Valley Bridge. Lt. Col. Eisner, that was documented in a video by a Palestinian photographer who works for Nablus television, the Israeli media published reports describing the officer's personality and in other reports show suspicion about the incident and attempts to show that the Eizner and other officers were going through difficult periods in their lives at the time of the attack.
In addition to these reports, statements were issued that referred to the Palestinians as those who hate the state of Israel and who wish to revenge Israeli´s for what they did in the past, stating that the army have been quick to ensure these plans aren´t carried through.
Yediot Ahranot Israeli newspaper published a picture showing that Eizner was wearing an arm sling, proving that his hand was injured during the confrontations in the peace march, and according to the newspaper, his right hand was broken.
Yediot Ahranot moreover published in a separate report about the attack of the Danish activist, a video that showed details that the soldiers of the Civil Administration and army treated the activists with humility and respect, although they breached the army borders and upon reaching the highway caused disruption in the area.
The newspaper claimed that the film which shows the punch lasted only for few seconds in a tape that is half an hour in length. According to the testimonies of the soldiers who were in the area at the time of the incident, they stated that one of the scenes that wasn´t captured on video included a group of activists throwing a bicycle on Eizner before the ´accident´.
The newspaper said that, on Tuesday, the civil administration called the photographer Baker Abdul Haq from Nablus television, and asked for his testimony and for him to collate all the materials that he owns which are related to the incident.
According to Yediot Ahranot, Baker accepted giving his testimony on the condition that there would be a fair and independent investigation.
The counter attack from the Israeli media in publishing these reports has been tantamount to them trying to distort the world's view about his incident and in justifying the attack. It has also allowed them to open an alternative view to which the right wing media can pertain and has created a counter argument for any individuals or official Danish institutions or the foreign ministry to take legal proceedings or follow the case. However the picture has remained definitive proof of Israeli practices in the Palestinian territories.
Around 15, 000 Israelis have signed a petition to support the Lt. Col. Eisner who assaulted the Danish activist and hit him with his gun.
The spokesperson of the Israeli Occupying Force, Brig. Gen. Yoav (Poly) Mordechai, spoke of the video documenting Lt. Col. Eisner hitting a protestor with his M-16, "the incident that took place in the Jordan River Valley is extremely serious and in absolute contradiction with the ethics of the IDF. There are different bodies, some of them anarchists and belligerent war instigators, disparaging our soldiers to create a buzz in the media, but we must maintain IDF ethics and avoid getting dragged into a provocation."
Lt. Gen. Gantz concluded in the investigation of the incident that there were professional failures alongside failures from the commanders.
Lt. Col. Eisner was dismissed from his position and will not serve as the Deputy Commander of the IDF Officer School, and will not be eligible to serve in commanding positions for the next two years.
