Israeli Soldiers Play with Gaza Women's Underwear in Online Posts
Editor
28 March 2024 23:55 WIB
MANNEQUINS AND UNDERWEAR
The authenticated posts include a photo of a soldier holding a bare female mannequin from behind with his hands on its breasts and one of a soldier handling a half-naked doll.
One photo shows a soldier posing with his gun, making a thumbs-up gesture, in front of a double bed strewn with packets of women's underwear.
YouTube said it had removed a video flagged by Reuters for violating the platform's harassment policies, which prohibit content that reveals someone's personally identifiable information. Instagram did not comment.
Israel's military campaign in Gaza was launched in response to an attack on Israel by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on Oct. 7 in which militants killed about 1,200 people and took 253 hostage, according to Israel.
The posts come at a time when Hamas and Israel are both being accused of grave war crimes. A team of U.N. experts said this month in a report that there were reasonable grounds to believe sexual violence, including rapes and gang rapes, occurred at several locations during the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.
The experts also said there was convincing information that some Israeli hostages taken to Gaza had been subjected to sexual violence which may still be ongoing.
Israel stands accused of pushing Gaza towards famine. The team of U.N. experts also said in its recent report that it had received information from institutional and civil society sources and direct interviews in the West Bank about sexual violence against Palestinians by the IDF.
Both sides reject accusations of sexual violence.
The lingerie and mannequin posts do not compare in gravity to the alleged crimes against women reported since Oct. 7. Still, two legal experts said they potentially breached international law.
Ardi Imseis, an assistant professor of law at Queen's University in Canada, said the posts violated Article 27 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which governs the treatment of civilians in wartime.
Article 27 says civilians are entitled to respect for their honor, family rights, manners and customs, and must be protected against insults and public curiosity, and that women must be especially protected against any attack on their honor.
Within Israel, the lingerie posts have attracted little attention, said Oren Persico of the Seventh Eye, a website covering Israeli media. By contrast, he said, posts showing weapons or Hamas flags said to have been found in Gazan homes have been circulating widely.
REUTERS
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