For a second time this month, Israeli media have shown videos of Israeli soldiers fleeing a Palestinian mob.
The video released on Monday by the news site Ynet shows a platoon running from a crowd of stone-throwing Palestinians near the West Bank settlement of Mitzpe Kedumim. Last week, Channel 2 showed a video of a separate incident that occurred on Dec. 6 some 45 miles farther south, in Hebron, when Israeli troops fled a mob into a butcher shop.
The video from Mitzpe Kedumim shows the Israeli soldiers attempting to disperse a riot before retreating to their posts under a deluge of rocks and stones.
According to the Maariv newspaper, three soldiers were injured in the incident, “two by stones, one with a fractured hand and the other in the face with a cut to his head. Another fighter was hurt when a stun grenade exploded and burned his hand.”
The injured soldiers were evacuated to Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah, the paper reported.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that the incident filmed at Mitzpe Kedumim was being investigated.
“Following the incident, the orders pertaining to crowd control were clarified: Soldiers must break up violent riots with determination while exercising discretion regarding the use of force,” the IDF statement said.
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.